04: Bob Sproul and dog Gazza next to the old kiln at his fire-ravaged Drouin West property. 34635 Picture: Donna Oates
By Melissa Grant
FORMER Kooweerup Secondary College teacher Bob Sproul lost everything on Black Saturday – his house, car and dog – but the generosity of others which arose after the ashes has lifted his spirits.
Mr Sproul says many good things have come out of the experience which he could only describe as “like losing your wallet times 100”.
“There are so many things that happen in the world today that don’t make you proud to be a human being, but my experience since the fire has taken the edge off that,” he told the Gazette.
“By and large it’s been overwhelming and very humbling because I’m not used to accepting help from other people.”
Mr Sproul arrived at The Alfred with just 60 cents in his pocket after fire gutted his Drouin West property on 7 February.
The 69-year-old was lucky to survive the devastating inferno – he crawled through his burning house as burning plastic flew out of the evaporating air-conditioning vent, and smashed a window to escape. He then used his small truck and two plastic tables loaned from a friend to create a water-filled hammock to protect him from flying embers.
“When I went though the window out of the room, I started having funny thoughts like ‘this is how people get burnt to death’,” he remembered.
“I hopped out the back of the truck away from the window and went down the track hoping someone would save me.”
And he was, by neighbour ‘Red Gum’ Dave Ritchie, who drove Mr Sproul to the Drouin Fire Station, where he was taken to Warragul Hospital and then the Alfred.
Mr Sproul quickly recovered from injuries sustained during the blaze – he was blind for a couple of days and doctors put a tube down his throat to preserve his lungs.
As for his 60-acre property, that too is also taking shape. The rubble has been cleared and only the old kiln stands on the property where patches of scorched earth remind Mr Sproul of that fateful day.
He visits the farm regularly with his new dog Gazza, a Kelpie Queensland Heeler cross. The breed is a mix between Mr Sproul’s Kelpie Eiff who died in the fire and his previous dog Yobbo, a purebred Queensland Heeler who died of cancer.
Mr Sproul remains with his partner June Parris on the other side of town while he organises to have his house rebuilt on his Drouin West property.
He says his new abode will be largely the same – except for the air-conditioning system.
“I won’t have evaporative cooling … if it’s made of materials that burn and act as a sprinkler in the house – it’s not for me,” he said.
Mr Sproul said many old friends had contacted him since his brush with death.
“One of the things that really astound you is the number of friends who can ring up after 45 years,” he said.
“The stories are the sort of stories you hear at people’s eulogies.”
Mr Sproul thanked the local 4WD and Lions clubs and the Rotary Club of Berwick for assisting him to re-fence his property, as well as the Bayles Fire Brigade for organising the delivery of a shipping container.
Staff and students at Kooweerup Secondary College, where he retired from teaching in 1992, have also been extremely supportive.
“Kooweerup Secondary sent me along a very substantial cheque and a basket full of goodies,” he said.
“A group of Year 9 students are going up there (the fire-ravaged area) in September. They wanted to go and landscape my garden which is nice, but I don’t even know where my house is going to go yet.”
