Wednesday, 28 March, 2018
Pakenham
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Property Lift out
Too close to home By Kyra Gillespie A house in Officer is lucky to be standing after it was nearly engulfed by flames on Friday 23 March. A grass fire tore through nearly five hectares of land before stopping within metres of the house on Leckey Road in Officer. A CFA spokeswoman said 29 vehicles and a helicopter responded to the fire which broke out just before 4pm. Property owner Bernadette Skinner described the incident as being “too close for comfort.” Her 16-year-old daughter and husband were home when the fire broke out. “I couldn’t believe it, I rushed home from work and picked up my daughter while my husband stayed back to move the cows, goats and horses,” Ms Skinner said. “The fire only stopped about six metres from our swimming pool.
It was pretty scary; I still have memories of Ash Wednesday so after that there was no way I was going to leave my daughter there...
Bernadette Skinner stands in front of the charred remains of vegetation on her Officer South property. 179214
The fire left nearly five hectares of land charred.
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Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
A firefighter from the Upper Beaconsfield Brigade works to get the fire under control.
The fire came within metres of the house.
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“It was pretty scary; I still have memories of Ash Wednesday so after that there was no way I was going to leave my daughter there.” The fire appears to have been started by a neighbour burning off across the road, despite the fact that fire restrictions are still in force. “He decided to burn off and it got away from him and into the neighbour’s hay, which then spread over to our property. “He was very apologetic about it. “We are just relieved because it could have been a lot worse.” Only two paddocks on the 200-acre property were destroyed by the fire. “The CFA did such a good job; we couldn’t imagine a better outcome,“ Ms Skinner said. “They concentrated on saving the fence posts and the trees in the driveway, so the damage is really minimal. “We are very lucky.” Emergency crews worked tirelessly through the hot afternoon and were able to get the blaze under control by 6pm. The fire was officially closed at 9pm. No property was lost.
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