My mother is a member of Fauna Rescue, so on the afternoon of June 28th we were called to a rescue in Little Hampton. There was a possum in a cellar, and the owner had undergone a vasectomy the day before so he couldn't take care of it himself in that state. As we pulled up the guy who had called us was waiting out the front of his house and informed us that his next-door neighbour's house was actually on fire.
Whilst we waited for the CFS to arrive, he grabbed the garden hose and tried to put out the fire, but with no luck. Before the CFS arrived, the neighbour's 20-something year old son (I'll call him X) came home after walking his dog, and entered the burning building in an attempt to save some of his family's possessions. X had inhaled a lot of smoke while he was in the building, so when he came out he was not in a good condition. All three emergency services had arrived at the scene. X was now experiencing some breathing problems; hyperventilation and shock. I stood by him, stunned by everything. I couldn't move - the situation just didn't seem real.
X was taken to hospital, and the CFS extinguished the fire, so everything went as best as it could given the circumstances. This was the first time that I'd ever seen a house fire, and it affected me deeply. It was then I realised just how fragile everything is in life, and how easily the little bubble we each live in can pop instantaneously.
Fortunately this fire was manageable, and X was alright. Some people aren't so lucky. The possibility of experiencing a house fire in Australia is too high for my liking. One fire fighter quoted a figure that about 1 in 5 Australian households is expected to have a house fire at some stage. Many of these fires are preventable. Let's hope that we can lower these figures by being more aware of hazards in our surroundings and taking preventative measures against them.
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