Warrigal
SF VIP
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
This thread is for stories about the catastrophic situation many Australians are facing right now. I will try to keep things as uplifting as I can but there are many tragedies happening at the moment.
As Balmoral* burned, one man survived by hiding in a makeshift 'coffin' in his backyard
Steve Harrison is lucky to be alive.
The 67-year-old artist became trapped on his property as the Green Wattle Creek fire roared towards his home in Balmoral in the NSW Southern Highlands on Saturday afternoon. His wife had already evacuated but Mr Harrison had stayed to defend the property. By the time he changed his mind, it was too late.
"I ran to my ute but my garden was already on fire, the driveway was on fire, the road was on fire so I couldn't evacuate," Mr Harrison told the ABC.
With nowhere to go and no firefighters to help, the professional potter hid inside a makeshift shelter made out of fireproof ceramic fibres as the flames approached.
"The day before I had actually built myself a small kiln down the back — a coffin-sized kiln — just big enough for me to crawl inside," he recalled while fighting back tears.
More story and video here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-22/tales-of-survival-from-balmoral-bushfires/11822210
* Balmoral is a small hamlet south of Sydney. There is not much left of it today.
As Balmoral* burned, one man survived by hiding in a makeshift 'coffin' in his backyard
Steve Harrison is lucky to be alive.
The 67-year-old artist became trapped on his property as the Green Wattle Creek fire roared towards his home in Balmoral in the NSW Southern Highlands on Saturday afternoon. His wife had already evacuated but Mr Harrison had stayed to defend the property. By the time he changed his mind, it was too late.
"I ran to my ute but my garden was already on fire, the driveway was on fire, the road was on fire so I couldn't evacuate," Mr Harrison told the ABC.
With nowhere to go and no firefighters to help, the professional potter hid inside a makeshift shelter made out of fireproof ceramic fibres as the flames approached.
"The day before I had actually built myself a small kiln down the back — a coffin-sized kiln — just big enough for me to crawl inside," he recalled while fighting back tears.
More story and video here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-22/tales-of-survival-from-balmoral-bushfires/11822210
* Balmoral is a small hamlet south of Sydney. There is not much left of it today.