6 minute read
Couple's close call
Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann
Photography: Bairnsdale Advertiser and Ldg Sen Const Ray Moreland
“Let's go! Andy, get her out . . . Stroey, we've gotta go! Right now!”
The black smoke is suffocating, the radiant heat is overwhelming, flames are licking the house and barrels of fuel could explode at any moment.
But leading senior constables Ray Moreland and Andy Trace will stop at nothing to save an elderly couple from their burning home.
The two police officers are only at the humble weatherboard home of Ian and Gwen Strobridge outside Buchan because of the local knowledge Ldg Sen Const Moreland has of his small East Gippsland town and its community.
It’s knowledge he has honed over the 18 years he has proudly served as the lone police officer at Buchan Police Station.
Ldg Sen Const Ray Moreland has become a pivotal part of the Buchan community over the past 18 years.
Having joined Victoria Police in 1985, Ldg Sen Const Moreland worked in Melbourne's CBD, Oakleigh and Narre Warren before arriving in Buchan in 2002.
“I was the city copper coming to Buchan in the bush,” Ldg Sen Const Moreland said.
“When I started here, I had never been to the bush before, never started a chainsaw and had never driven a four-wheel-drive.”
But Ldg Sen Const Moreland and his wife Linny fell in love with the town, its 200 residents and a new outdoors lifestyle.
Ldg Sen Const Moreland said serving at a single-officer station in a small town requires a unique kind of policing.
But policing in Buchan is another kind of unique, with the seasons taking turns to threaten the town with fires and floods.
Last year, winter was barely over when Ldg Sen Const Moreland and the community started worrying about fires.
Three years of dry weather had primed the bush for a bad fire season and as the hotter weather of December began to take hold, the town started its anxious wait.
The fire danger spiked on 30 December with strong winds and temperatures that soared past 40 degrees.
Police commanders in the region assigned Knox Highway Patrol’s Ldg Sen Const Andy Trace to help Ldg Sen Const Moreland on the day.
Both men have been police officers for more than 30 years and have served during various bushfires.
Making an instant connection, they worked together brilliantly.
Beginning their shift at 7am, they were driving to all directions of the compass around Buchan, checking people were safe and prepared while also monitoring several fires that were starting to surround the town.
The fires on 30 December 2019 hit Buchan from all directions.
A Country Fire Authority (CFA) strike team was in Buchan and had strict orders to only protect the town itself and the many evacuees who had gathered on the town’s football oval.
At 11.30am, the two officers went to the local pub to check on its publican and other residents.
One of Ldg Sen Const Moreland’s mates, Mick Roberts, was there after coming in briefly from his home just a few kilometres to the north.
“I said to Mick, ‘How’s your fire plan?’” Ldg Sen Const Moreland said.
“But he was always the same with those kinds of things - ‘I’ll be right mate, no worries’.”
It would tragically be the last time Ldg Sen Const Moreland would see his friend.
Mr Roberts’ body was found the next day inside his burnt-out home.
Fires bear down on the small East Gippsland township of Buchan.
The officers left the pub to keep track of the fires, which had blocked road access from the south and cut off the town’s power.
At 7pm, the pair drove to a vantage point overlooking a valley to the town’s north.
They watched helplessly as a large fire marched towards Buchan, growing with greater fury as each minute passed.
“We could have had 100 strike teams and they wouldn’t have put it out because it was burning so ferociously,” Ldg Sen Const Moreland said.
“All Andy and I could do was wait for it to impact the town and make sure people were prepared.”
Just before 8pm, Ldg Sen Const Moreland noticed the fire flaring up 2km north of Buchan, near the house of Ian and Gwen Strobridge, aged in their 80s.
Despite being on their own as the CFA strike team had to stay in town, the two officers headed to the Strobridges’ home.
The greatest fear of every police officer is not being there when you’re needed, Ldg Sen Const Trace said.
Fear shot through Ldg Sen Const Moreland when they rounded the corner to see the Strobridges’ 50-year-old Holden sedan parked out the front of their burning house.
Leading senior constables Ray Moreland and Andy Trace arrived to find the Strobridges' home on fire.
“Ray’s 18 years in Buchan mean he knows every local and all of their habits, so the moment he saw that old Holden, he knew they were home,” Ldg Sen Const Trace said.
They raced to the property to see Mr Strobridge – known as “Stroey” – desperately trying to put out flames that had fully engulfed sheds next to his house.
“The fire was licking the side of the house and he was there with just a little garden hose. I couldn’t believe it,” Sen Const Moreland said.
The two officers started running towards the house but were knocked back by a wall of extreme heat and thick smoke.
“I saw Stroey had dropped his hose and retreated behind the house, so I gathered myself for another go and we got to the house,” Sen Const Moreland said.
“I said to Andy, ‘There’s a wife in here somewhere, she’s probably in the house.”
While Ldg Sen Const Trace dashed inside to look for Mrs Strobridge, Ldg Sen Const Moreland stood mere metres from flames starting to consume the house’s car port verandah.
With smoke blinding him and making it near impossible to breathe, he started shouting for Mr Strobridge to give up on his home and leave.
“Stroey, we’ve gotta go! Right now!” Ldg Sen Const Moreland yelled.
He knew every second mattered.
“I also knew Stroey had a fuel tank and 44-gallon drums on the property and I was worried they would explode.
“It was just a nightmare.”
Mr Strobridge then fled past the flames to the front of the property to Ldg Sen Const Moreland.
After frantically grabbing belongings from various rooms, Mrs Strobridge finally came out of the house with Ldg Sen Const Trace.
Embers were swirling through the air as they loaded the Strobridges into their car and spot fires were taking hold in trees along the road that would be their escape route back into Buchan.
Footage taken by Ldg Sen Const Ray Moreland as he and Ldg Sen Const Andy Trace rescued an elderly couple from their burning home, including an image of their destroyed house the next day.
They all made it to the safety of Buchan’s footy oval, thankful they made it out with their lives.
The Strobridges’ house was discovered the next morning fully destroyed by fire, one of 24 razed homes in Buchan and the greater area Ldg Sen Const Moreland covers.
When Ldg Sen Const Moreland watches the video he took of the incident, tears fill his eyes.
“It makes me realise how close Stroey and Gwen came to being killed and how close Andy and I came to being killed,” he said.
Having made it through the fires, Ldg Sen Const Moreland is now focused on helping his town recover.
“It’s all about keeping our close-knit community close together.”
Ldg Sen Const Trace said he was in awe of the way Ldg Sen Const Moreland has served the people of Buchan.
“The way that town rallied together during and after the fires, it was incredible to see,” Ldg Sen Const Trace said.
"At the centre of that community spirit is Ray and his big heart for everyone.
“I know the town of Buchan is just so proud of Ray and they talk about how lucky they are to have him."
