Bushfire survivor shares tale of escape

Bushfire survivor shares tale of escape
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2008/s2490128.htm

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• victoria
• bushfires
• 2009
• st_andrews
• jim_baruta
• 7.30_Report
• inferno
• ordeal
• firestorm
• bunker
• shelter
• hamlet
• heroism
• horror

[tcla1]

I understand Most have easily forgotten Black Sat..

I CANNOT and Will not for the loss of my tiny towns innocense and all the lifetime friends lost or if survived now like myself who cheated death are Permanently mentally unwell..

Even Jim is now Selling up and No one else on that 6 km road has rebuilt as over 30 people died!!..Jim was the ONLY person who stayed to survive...

Well i have My Own Amazing video view with ALL CFA SCANNER CHAT!!!! If i Do release it to media..it will SHOCK ALL!!!

[samueljshepherd]

@tcla1 sorry to read of your terrible suffering and it's understandable that Jim and others wish to sell up and move considering the horrible tragedy. let's pray it never happens again but living amongst such bushland we know it may repeat some years or decades down the track. take care and i wish you the very best.

[samueljshepherd]

Good news about the cow and calf, thanks for telling us, and agree Jim's a hero. xoxoxo

[tcla1]

Jim DID as he Survived, but i don't think he would have been as lucky next time.What i saw, that fire had NO RULES and all around Jims place the hills are Still totally torced. PSSSS the 1 Cow that survived and Calf are doing Very well xoxxo

[samueljshepherd]

always on the cards, so cleared fire trails and land clearing around one's property are essential.

[samueljshepherd]

I still can't decide whether Jim did the right thing staying behind, but when it's your property containing all your worldly possessions, I'd probably have done the exact same thing. Liam Sheahan is another hero in my book. If not for that land clearing, that cost him so dearly in court, unjust imho, his property would've gone up as well. I'm sorry to read about your friends that perished, may they R.I.P., and may we never again see a repeat of last year's fires, yet with our climate it's

[tcla1]

I can't say this enough, but Jim is a Hero that survived that day when so many others including my friends didn't.

I just ThankGod that Jim was ok and my uncle whos house( 1 of 3 ) that burnt down on the video escaped with about 15 minutes to spare.

Let us Never Ever forget Jims story.......And may such a tragedy never happen again..

R.I.P Bob, Sue, Jon,Haydn and Kaya ......and all those other locals we knew...

[melbgal]

Jim, thankyou so much for sharing your story! I live 45 min away and on that horrific day, I cannot imagine what it was like and what your family went through not knowing what had happened to you! xx

[melbgal]

Lavenderrose73 ...The Fires were not in The "Outback" these were in populated areas, many Less than an hours drive from Melbourne (Capital City of Victoria, the second biggest City, behind Sydney)

Towns like Kinglake and Marysville are (where and will be once again) such picturesque places!

[samueljshepherd]

It demonstrates how crucial land clearing around one's property is, and having a decent bunker to sit out the worst of it... but metal shipping containers wouldn't have saved people in the intensity of Marysville; unfortunately that was a disaster waiting to happen.