FIRE DESTROYS EVERYTHING COAST FAMILY OWNS
A FAMILY is in shock and is staying with relatives after losing everything in a house fire at Runaway Bay on Thursday night.
The couple and their adult son were yesterday still reeling after the blaze tore through the Deagon Dr home.
The family had owned the home for 30 years and are struggling with the loss of three decades of memories.
On thursday night, at the height of the blaze, flames reached metres into the sky, scorching gum trees on neighbouring properties.
The couple had been at home when the fire broke out on the back deck and fled with just the clothes on their backs and a set of car keys.
The man was taken to hospital as a precaution but both were unhurt.
The couple managed to grab the family dog in the frantic rush, but their budgies died in the fire.
Their adult son had been out at the time and said he’d arrived home to see the aftermath. “I’ve got to buy more clothes today, I’ve been wearing these since yesterday, I have none left,” the man, who declined to be named, said.
The front of the home is still standing, but the owners said the back of the house was been destroyed.
A next-door neighbour who was not home when the fire broke out said neighbours gathered to console the family.
“The fire also affected homes on each side – paint was peeling on our house and the patio is burnt, but it’s not too bad... it didn’t get inside,” a neighbour said.
Fire investigators were at the home yesterday and are yet to determine the cause.