One house gone, but others saved

By Melissa Grant
ONE Tonimbuk house burnt to the ground and neighbouring residents have told how frighteningly close flames came to their homes.
The abode of local recluse Fred Wailes was lost in the Bunyip State Park inferno, while Tonimbuk residents Sophy and Mark Knight have praised the actions of DSE firefighters and a close friend, who saved their family’s home.
Cardinia Shire mayor Bill Pearson, who also lives nearby, said huge fireballs burst as they hit trees during the “scary” encounter.
Mr Wailes, aged in his eighties, is staying with friends in Bunyip after the blaze left him with little more than his ute and a bunch of clothes.
The fire totally destroyed his home in Wailes Lane, off Jolley Road.
“It was fortunate that his nephew brought him out in the morning,” friend Gwen Harvey said.
Sophy Knight said her home would have also been destroyed if it wasn’t for her family’s swimming pool.
She said her cartoonist husband Mark, friend Dave Papley and DSE firefighters pumped water out of the pool in an effort to save the house from approaching flames.
“We were so lucky on Saturday because we had help,” she said.
Mrs Knight said she was struggling to come to terms with fire horror stories – including those of friends in Labertouche who had lost their livelihoods.
“You feel guilty because you can barely cope with more news that’s much more horrific than ours,” she said.
Cr Pearson, who stayed and defended his Tonimbuk home, urged residents to think of those who weren’t so lucky.
“The scale and the horror unleashed by these fires across all of Victoria is beyond belief,” he said.