Left: Joseph and his girlfriend Emma sift through the remains of the Gembrook cottage. Above: The fire is unable to be controlled as the cottage goes up in flames. By Sarah Schwager
A GEMBROOK family of 14 is getting on with life after a cottage on their property was destroyed by fire.
One of the Van Strijp family’s 12 children, Joseph, moved into the cottage only two weeks ago after returning home.
Joseph’s mother, Anne Van Strijp, said he had just cancelled his contents insurance because he thought there would be less crime and theft in the country.
His Hawthorn house had been broken into three times with most of his building tools stolen.
Joseph, 23, lost $25,000 worth of belongings in the fire, but six religious books survived.
Joseph, who had just taken a new job with Longvue Homes as a carpenter, had kept the books in a glory box that he had made himself.
Joseph’s father, Kees Van Strijp, said the family of devout Catholics saw the loss as a bit of a warning sign.
“Joe sees it as a sign saying ‘don’t be so attached to your earthly possessions’,” Mr Van Strijp said.
Mrs Van Strijp said Joseph, a black belt loong fu pai instructor in Pakenham, was just getting together a goodsized class when he lost all his instructor’s gear and safety equipment in the fire.
“I wish I was thinking clearer and grabbed his carry bags which were right near the door, but the choking smoke prohibited that and I just ran for the phone to call the fire brigade,” she said.
Mr Van Strijp said: “Joe’s still trying to get used to the loss.
“All his photos were gone.
“It’s only a small thing but it’s all his memories.
“But he’s taking it well.
“My old collectables were there as well – old stuffed animals, old record players. It was a double whammy.”
Mr Van Strijp said the most important thing was that everyone was all right.
“The cottage is nearly 50odd metres from the house. There was no danger to life,” he said.
“Joseph was still at work.
“The children had just come home from school pretty much.
“It’s a blessing. If there had been someone inside …”
Mr Van Strijp said the cottage had most likely been smouldering for hours.
“I was the first to open the door,” he said. “There was thick black smoke.”
Mr Van Strijp said the raw timber cottage reacted like a gas pilot light as soon as he opened the door and burst into flames.
“The room was starved of oxygen,” he said.
“There was nothing I could do. It had been brewing for too long.”
Six CFA units and 30 firefighters from Gembrook, Cockatoo and Upper Pakenham attended the blaze, thought to have been caused by an electric heater.
Mrs Van Strijp said she was grateful to the fire brigades for saving the family home from a similar fate to the cottage.
Mr Van Strijp said friends and neighbours had been very generous, emailing photos and donating clothes.
“It is important for friends and family to rally round to get through those first few days,” he said.
Joseph’s brother James, a captain in the army, drove straight down from Albury with a big bag of clothes when he heard the news.
Joe’s girlfriend, Emma, also dropped everything and flew down from Tamworth, where she is studying medicine, to provide some emotional support.
Mr Van Strijp said Joseph had managed to collect a few small remains from the fire, including some charred photos and other bits and pieces.
He said Joe wanted to put the remains in a picture frame to remind him what little he started with.
“We are going to rebuild.
“We are in the process of talking to the insurance company,” he said.
“But we will definitely replace it. Maybe this time with brick or concrete, or maybe steel.”
For the time being, Joseph will stay with the rest of his family in the main house.
“We’re looking forward to picking up the pieces and starting over,” Mr Van Strijp said.
