Save thy neighbour

By Lia Bichel
A HARKAWAY man has been hailed as a hero by his neighbour after his actions saved her life on Black Saturday.
As a fire roared towards Harkway, Gail Clay sat in her house unaware of the commotion going on around her.
“I had my curtains drawn, the airconditioner on and I was watching some old Clint Eastwood movie on Foxtel,” she said. “There was no warning on the television, I couldn’t smell smoke, and I couldn’t see anything going on outside.”
Ian Foord noticed flames approaching Harkaway, and was immediately concerned about his neighbour. He and his girlfriend had become close friends with Ms Clay when her husband died four years ago and were worried she might be unaware of the firestorm.
“I could see the fire rolling up the hills. I don’t know why, but I just thought I should check on Gail and make sure she was OK,” he said.
“I knocked on her front door, but there was no answer. So I knocked on the back door, and again, no answer, so I opened the door and shouted her name.”
Ms Clay answered Mr Foord’s call and said she was in a state of shock to see an inferno rapidly moving towards her house.
“I had never seen anything like that. The fire just exploded into fireballs,” she said. “I just grabbed two photos of my children and my wedding rings and we left.”
The two frantically raced back to Mr Foord’s house, 120 metres away, to pick up his partner who was trying to escape the smoke. By the time they reached her, Ms Clay’s house was engulfed in flames.
“My body was numb while I watched it burn,” she said. “It was like losing my husband all over again, because there was memorabilia in the house – photos and a book of comments that people left after he passed. It was devastating.”
The whirlwind of events happened within minutes, Ms Clay said.
“If I was in the house for only a few more minutes, it would have been a different story,” she said. “I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for Ian.”
Ms Clay said the whole experience had been emotionally and physically draining, but she looked forward to the day when she could rebuild her house next to her heroic neighbours.
“They are absolutely amazing,” she said. “They are my saviours.”
Mr Foord was modest about his efforts and passed the praise to the emergency services.
“It’s just human nature to just make sure the people around you are safe,” he said. “The real heroes are the firefighters.”