Victorian bushfires remembered: Courage under fire

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann and Clare O’Donnell

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

Ian and Gwen Strobridge are in no doubt they are only alive today because of the bravery of leading senior constables Ray Moreland and Andy Trace.

On 30 December 2019, several large bushfires were sweeping across the hills surrounding Buchan, consuming everything on their way to the small East Gippsland town.

Sitting atop one of these hills, about 2km north of the town, the Strobridges' home sat right in the warpath of the biggest fire front.

The Strobridges, aged in their 80s, had made the decision to stay and defend their home of several decades but they were hopelessly outmatched when the blaze hit.

Standing inside the door of his home, Mr Strobridge was trying to keep the flames at bay with a simple garden hose but was unaware of the full impact the fire was having on the house around him.

As Mrs Strobridge sat petrified inside her pitch-black home which had lost power, the fire had started engulfing the carport and side of the house, and flames were likely filling the roof cavity above her.

“It was a very angry fire,” Mrs Strobridge said.“Nothing would have stopped it.

“I’ve never felt anything like it and I don’t ever want to feel like that again.”

In that moment, leading senior constables Ray Moreland and Andy Trace, the only two police in the area, left the relative safety of the Buchan township when they saw the fire front flaring on the ridgeline where the Strobridges lived.

They arrived just in time to rescue the elderly couple from their burning home and get them safely into town.

Mrs Strobridge believes they only had a few minutes to live.

“There’s no way we would have got out in time,” she said.

“Any time I wake up through the night, I just shudder and think, ‘Gee, we could have just been a speck of dust’.”

They wouldn’t have been the only victims in Buchan that day, with the very same fire front earlier in the evening claiming the life of 67-year-old Mick Roberts on his farm just 2km north of the Strobridges.

Leading senior constables Ray Moreland and Andy Trace reunited with Ian and Gwen Strobridge almost a year after saving them from their burning home.

Ldg Sen Const Moreland was devastated to lose his friend Mr Roberts but delighted to help save the Strobridges.

“One didn’t survive, but two did survive that day,” Ldg Sen Const Moreland said.

“I’ve never seen anything like those fires.

“The wind and the smoke and the flames – it was red and black and smoky, and you could hardly see two feet in front of you or hardly breathe.

“That’s the most scared I think I’ve ever been. It was like hell.”

Ldg Sen Const Moreland is the long-serving lone officer at Buchan Police Station and was joined during the fires by Ldg Sen Const Trace, who usually works for Knox Highway Patrol.

Almost a year on from the night they saved Ian and Gwen Strobridge, the two officers caught up with the elderly couple, who are renting a small unit in Buchan while planning to rebuild their home.

It was an emotional reunion, only made possible by the officers’ brave actions on that day.

“We just thank those two we’re alive and that we can hopefully celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary in two years,” Mrs Strobridge said.

The Strobridges were particularly pleased to hear their two heroes will be recognised with bravery awards from Victoria Police and the Royale Humane Society for their rescue efforts.

For Ldg Sen Const Trace, the return to Buchan to reunite with Ldg Sen Const Moreland, the Strobridges and others he helped within the small community was something he had been looking forward to for months.

“This was my first country deployment to help out in a projected fire season,” he said.

“I was there for several days helping out after the night the fires came through because the town was cut off.

“In that time, I formed some really close bonds with the community.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Victoria Police has awarded the following officers with accolades in recognition of their efforts during the 2019-20 Victorian summer bushfires.

Medal of Courage:

Ldg Sen Const Ray Moreland, Ldg Sen Const Andy Trace.

Medal of Merit:

Supt Simon Humphrey, Insp Mark Edwards, Sen Sgt Alan Rice, Sgt Luke Banwell.

Regional Commendation:

Supt Helen Sattler, Supt Lisa Winchester, Insp Peter Wheeler, Insp Steve Frost, Insp Rob Wallace, Insp Stephen Cooper, Sen Sgt Joel Hughes, Sen Sgt Angelo Lando, Sen Sgt Brad Johnstone, Sen Sgt Rod Findlay, Sen Sgt Eamon Leahy, Det Sgt Glenn Owens, Sgt Scott Wealands, Sgt Stuart Johnston, Sgt Leah Windebank, Sgt Wayne Redmond.