NSW Bushfires: Central Coast Families Devastated

Like many residents in the waterfront suburb of Koolewong, Sarra and Craig Saxon-Gill were prepared for bushfires.

The couple had cleared their gutters, installed sprinklers on the roof and made a bushfire plan in the lead up to summer.

But nothing could have prepared them for the ferocity and speed at which Saturday’s blaze moved across the NSW Central Coast.

Their beautiful home and vintage cars were engulfed in flames after it came under ember attack, when strong winds and scorching temperatures whipped up the fire.

Everything they own is now a crumpled pile of ruins. Treasured memories and belongings have been reduced to rubble.

“Total devastation, there’s nothing that’s savable,” Mr Gill said.

The pair had initially planned to stay and defend their home, but when they activated their sprinkler system, no water flowed through the taps.

So they left with just their clothes on their back and their animals.

A spokesperson for the Central Coast Council said there had been no interruption to the water supply at Koolewong, but said it was possible some residents experienced a reduction in pressure due to high water demand.

Widespread losses

Families across the north-eastern part of the state are grappling with the scale of the fires, after 20 homes were destroyed over the weekend.

The worst-hit area was Koolewong, where 16 houses were destroyed after a fire started in a park early Saturday afternoon and quickly became devastating.

Rouchelle Doust was on the waterfront there when she noticed the blaze creeping closer.

She drove back to the house with her dog to find her husband trying to defend the property.

“He wanted to put it out, and he’s up there in his bare feet trying to put it out, and he’s trying and trying, and I’m screaming at him to come down,” she said.

“I’m trying to put the embers out at the front until I realised that on the other side of the driveway it was a huge fire and I’ve gone ‘Oh s***’, and I jumped in the car and left.”

They were told to evacuate, and they soon realised the home her husband built more than 20 years ago could not have been saved.

“Everything’s in it: his grandmother’s stuff, his mother’s stuff, all my stuff — everything — it’s all gone, the whole lot,” Ms Doust said.

She said the houses on either side of their own went unscathed.

Community spirit

Owner of Paperboy Espresso, Mitch Samways, has opened his café’s kitchen to make free sandwiches for RFS volunteers battling the blaze at Redhead, near Newcastle.

“Everyone’s obviously stressed, but in a community like this, everyone rallies together,” he said.

Mr Samways said the business has been offering whatever it can to support local firefighters since a Watch and Act was ordered for his suburb of Dudley.

“We’ve pretty much been pumping out as many toasties as we can. Coffees, cold drinks, anything they want to keep them fed, happy, and looked after,” he said.

“It’s the least we can do to give back to them guys. They’re the ones saving our community and making sure we can be here tomorrow.”

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At a press conference in Gosford on Sunday, NSW Premier Chris Minns praised the community for supporting those who had lost everything, including “Christmas presents that they bought in the run-up to the 25th”.

“Gosford RSL have been inundated with phone calls from people on the Central Coast, regular citizens who’ve been donating food, toiletries, nappies and in some cases donating their own houses to accommodate people who have lost their premises,” he said.

“That’s just the highlight of community spirit.

“It’s an example for the rest of the country about what generosity looks like in times of adversity.”