Hope rises from the ashes of Black Saturday

Paul Mercieca and wife Amelia Coombes lost everything during the fierce fires that tore through parts of the North East.

Their uninsured home was completely gutted and the flames were so intense that Ms Coombes’ hair caught on fire.

She can still clearly recall burning tree matter falling around her at their Mudgegonga home, the sight like a scorching meteor shower.

The couple were two of an estimated 1000 people who farewelled Ovens-Eurobin CFA captain Barry Mapley at Myrtleford last week.

His passing was a chance to reflect on his heroic actions on February 7, 2009, with his team of four saving the couple’s life.

Ms Coombes is still brought to tears thinking about that day.

“It was absolutely horrifying,” she said.

“I thought we were going to die. At one stage it was sort of quiet for a minute and everything stopped.

“I thought ‘this must be it – this must be what happens when you die’.”

If it wasn’t for Mr Mapley and his crew – Mark Bursill, Terry Lockwood and Shaun Raoss – the couple wouldn’t be here today.

Mr Mercieca had thought they would be safe.

He had a water pump which was dousing their home with water, but flames destroyed it and left them without water pressure.

The fire was moving so fast that by the time it hit their property, they had no escape and were trapped inside a wall of flames.

Ms Coombes was on the back of a utility with their pets as her husband tried to find a route to safety.

The heat was so extreme it burnt her oesophagus and caused her hair to catch alight.

She said the Ovens-Eurobin crew were planning to leave their property in the belief everyone had fled earlier after their house literally exploded in flames.

It was only a chance encounter with the crew and their truck that saved them.

“They had a hose trained on me but the fire was that hot, the water evaporated before it got to me,” Ms Coombes said.

“I wasn’t getting wet but it cooled the air.

“One of my dogs had third degree burns and the heat went down its throat, into its lungs.

“The ground was that hot, Mark Bursill’s shoes actually caught on fire as he was trying to put the flames out.”

Mr Mapley rarely talked about Black Saturday afterwards.

He often chatted about other incidents, but family members think the 2009 fires were too traumatic.

But he once shared his thoughts for the book Firestorm: Black Saturday's Tragedy. 

“Glowing airborne embers were hurtling through the air,” he said. 

“Everywhere you looked was under flame-attack, and it was horrific to witness the deafening roar of the fire that was swirling around us. 

“We stayed on the truck for some protection as we pulled around the other side of the house. 

“As we started hosing the verandah, a shed nearby burst into flames, and the gap between the house and the shed then erupted in a tunnel of wild fire.”

Gas bottles at the property exploded, ripping the verandah roof off the home. 

Mr Mercieca said the roof had landed in a paddock 50 metres away. 

Mr Mapley and the crew spent more than three hours protecting the couple and their vehicle. 

Ms Coombes said the firefighters’ attempts to throw blankets from the fire truck to the couple's vehicle failed – they incinerated in mid-air. 

Once the horror had finished, the couple became close friends with the fire crew, especially Mr Mapley. 

Shaun Raoss recalled being surrounded by fire from all angles in the most extreme and terrifying moment of his life. 

“There were quite a few of us that were quite shaken up,” he said. 

“We didn't talk about it much – it's something you try to forget, but you can never forget something like that. 

“We just didn't mention it much. 

“It's the most extreme thing I've ever had to face so far in my life.

“It was a real eye-opener, it shocked a lot of people in the area.”

The blaze claimed the lives of John and Sue Wilson, who lived near the rescued couple. 

The perfect storm of weather conditions led to the horrors of Black Saturday. 

Then-Premier John Brumby had warned the previous day Victorians would face the “worst day in the history of the state". 

“It's just as bad a day as you can imagine and on top of that the state is just tinder-dry,” he said on February 6, 2009. 

“People need to exercise real common sense tomorrow.”

Extremely hot temperatures, dry conditions and fierce winds fanned the inferno and made the flames impossible to stop. 

Mr Mercieca said the state was just waiting to catch on fire. 

“For the conditions to occur like that on the day would have been a one-in-a-million chance,” he said. 

“It was 48.8 degrees on the day. 

“The whole country was just waiting to combust.”

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the maximum temperatures were up to 23 degrees above the February average. 

Many areas recorded their hottest day on record and Mt Hotham recorded wind gusts above 90km/h. 

Ms Coombes recalled thick smoke, which was like a blanket, bursting into flames. 

"The noise was like 10 jumbo jets right in your ear,” she said. 

“The fire was going quicker than I run.

“It was nothing like any fire I'd seen – it was like a meteor shower with large, burning debris flying sideways.”

The couple both praised firefighters for their bravery in battling the fire. 

For Ms Coombes and her partner, some good did come from Black Saturday. 

“We try not to talk about it much and how close we came to dying,” she said, choking back tears. 

“It doesn't matter how much time passes, it's still quite upsetting. 

“We look at the good things that came from it like meeting Barry and the boys. 

“It gives you a new perspective on life, what's important and who your friends are, and shows you the kindness of strangers.

“Since the fire, if we see something we can change, we try to do that. 

“That's what Barry did for us. 

“That's what makes a difference to people's lives.”

The couple led a class action of residents and landholders who were awarded an extensive payout in the Victorian Supreme Court in 2012. 

The money allowed them to undertake IVF after years of trying for a child, leading to the birth of daughter Matilda, now 20-months-old.

The couple moved from Mudgegonga to the Tallangatta Valley and are now expecting their second child. 

Fire protection, which was something they never gave much thought to, is now front and centre in their minds. 

“We thought we'd be alright – we were fighting the fire pretty hard and thought we were winning at one stage,” Mr Mercieca said. 

“We now have sprinklers on the roof, generators, home insurance and an evacuation plan. 

“The only thing we don't have now is Barry. But he's always in your heart. He's never too far from my mind.”