An elderly retiree who refused to evacuate her home as bushfires closed in was forced to grab a hose in a desperate bid to protect the property.
Terry Bellamy, who owns 64 acres in rural Buxton, south of Sydney, had no choice but to face the fire on her own with firefighters nowhere in sight.
About 20 homes in her town were burned on Thursday night, and two firefighters lost their lives on their way to battle the blazes.
The blaze was fast approaching from the south on Friday afternoon and had scorched much of the land surrounding her home.
It was dangerously close to another dwelling on her land, as well, but she was less concerned about saving that.
Terry Bellamy who owns 64 acres in rural Buxton, south of Sydney, had no choice but to face the fire on her own with firefighters nowhere in sight
Ms Bellamy (pictured) grabbed a hose in a desperate attempt to save her property as a raging bushfire approached
‘My animals are up here,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I got them inside but that’s why we couldn’t leave, we had to stay for them.’
She explained that her husband had been locked out, having left for work the day before without realising the RFS would block access to the town hours later.
She said he was now stuck helplessly watching as the fires creep closer.
The couple are well prepared to deal with fires, and say they chose not to evacuate during the 2001 fires, either.
So far, they’ve been lucky.
As the fire approached on Friday, Ms Bellamy filled up a water tank permanently connected to the back of her ute and drove toward the fire, hose in hand.
The fire approached her home in Buxton, New South Wales on Friday afternoon
Together with the help of Ms Bellamy, the two officers and water bombing helicopters, crews were able to save the home
Two senior constables had already called the fire in – about 20 minutes before the woman arrived.
They were told resources were stretched thin and that a crew would be there ‘as soon as they could’.
In the meantime, the duo helped Ms Bellamy fight the blaze, but the fire was simply too big.
Embers flew in every direction from the charred bush, starting small spot fires almost all around. They were surrounded, and with only one hose, had to prioritise where to save.
But as they worked through the ember attacks, the main fire continued to edge closer and closer to the family home.
As the wall of flames continued to rise and the three looked increasingly outnumbered, two Buxton RFS trucks pulled in, spraying water from the sides before even coming to a complete stop.
As the fire approached on Friday, Ms Bellamy filled up a water tank permanently connected to the back of her ute and drove toward the fire, hose in hand
Together with the help of Ms Bellamy, the two officers and water bombing helicopters, crews were able to save the home.
While most of the wildlife – kangaroos, lyre birds and wombats – fled as the fire front approached, a mother kangaroo and her joey risked their lives to eat some of the feed Ms Bellamy left out for them.
The dry conditions and barren land make it difficult for the animals to find food on their own.
Ms Bellamy said back in June she asked authorities to cut back on the bush near her property to offer further protection before the impending fire season.
She was told someone would ‘come to assess it’ and let her know.
‘I don’t know if an assessor ever came through, but I’m still waiting.’
Ms Bellamy had left out food for kangaroos and joeys that had been struggling in the fires