THE captain of a Bunbury fire crew who travelled to the Perth hills to help fight the catastrophic bushfires over the weekend has spoken of the devastation and danger her team faced.
Bunbury Volunteer Bushfire Brigade captain Terri Kowal described the Parkerville fires, in which one man lost his life and 49 homes were destroyed, as tragic.
“It was hairy. There were a few dicey situations with power poles and trees falling around us,” she said.
Nineteen firefighters from Greater Bunbury arrived in Parkerville on Sunday afternoon to find the fire contained and set about strengthening containment lines until Monday afternoon so the fire would not escape again.
“We had to basically go bush, cutting through fences rather than having to go through falling tree limbs and powerlines,” she said.
Ms Kowal said the impact of seeing gutted homes was not new to her but the emotional impact remained as strong as ever.
“It has an impact on all of us and you could see the devastation – it was tragic,” she said.
“Some of us have been in those situations before with Margaret River and some other fires but for some of the crew it was completely new.”
Ms Kowal said Parkerville acted as a timely warning to Bunbury people that crews would so all they could to help people but the real fire fighting happened long before the event.
“If people think there will be a fire truck rocking up at their house in that kind of situation they are sorely mistaken,” she said.
“If they haven’t taken action to make their home safer, we can do what we can but it is difficult.
“When you get a serious firestorm like that it is hard to say whether houses can be saved at all.
“People need to be prepared to give their home every opportunity to have a chance.”
