Man runs from ‘sea of fireballs’ that destroyed his house
A TERANG man has described the terrifying moment he was forced to flee his home as a “sea of fireballs” came out of nowhere.
Terry Carpenter smelt smoke and within minutes realised his house was about to be consumed by flames.
“I heard all the commotion and went outside and saw red skies with flames as tall as the trees coming right for us,” Mr Carpenter said.
“We sprinted down the driveway and we were bloody lucky to get out.”
All that remains of his property is a brick chimney and a TV antenna that stands tall among the ruins. “At least I can watch my shows,” he joked.
Mr Carpenter had been sitting in his bedroom when he caught a whiff of smoke.
His friends, who were over for dinner, started screaming and the 54-year-old realised his house was about to be hit.
“We sprinted down the driveway and we were bloody lucky to get out,” he said.
It’s believed the fire started when lightning struck a nearby paddock.
Mr Carpenter described the blaze as “a sea of fireballs”.
“Trees, fencing, sheds and all of the house went up instantly,” he said.
“You could see balls of fire flying across the paddocks.”
But it was the loss of Mr Carpenter’s longtime pet Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo, Mary, that hit the tough mechanic hardest.
The burnt-out cage of his old mate acted as a sobering reminder of what could have been.
“Houses can be rebuilt, cars can be replaced but lives mate, they can’t be replaced,” he said.
The single father lived alone in the house for five years and he’s now been forced to live with friends as the town battles to rebuild.
Mr Carpenter praised fire crews for their tireless efforts in fighting the blaze.
“There’s only so much you can do when it’s as windy and dry as it is,” he said.
“They did everything they could but local crews simply don’t have the resources to take on fires of that size.”
Mr Carpenter was just one of many victims of the out-of-control fire that destroyed several homes in Terang, Camperdown and Cobden.