Fire brigade captain called to fight fire at own house
The captain of a Victorian country fire brigade got a shock on Sunday when she was called to a fire at her own address.
Local CFA volunteers in Warburton, east of Melbourne, received the call while gathering at their fire station to celebrate a longstanding member’s 80th birthday.
Captain Hazel Clothier was about to give a speech when a message came through on the brigade’s pager system.
“I picked up the pager, looked at the address and realised it was my own house,” Ms Clothier told ABC Radio.
She said she couldn’t really remember much about the moment, other than that it was “kind of surreal”.
“I can just remember calling out and saying ‘that’s my house’.”
‘Very lucky’ house is still standing
Ms Clothier said soon after she saw the message her instincts as a firefighter kicked in.
“It’s the same job, whether it’s my house or anybody else’s,” she said.
She said she was “very lucky” that the blaze came at a time when there were so many firefighters already gathered at the station, so they could get moving quickly.
With the help of the local SES, the volunteers contained the fire to the roof of the house.
“Nobody was hurt, everybody was out, so that’s all good.
“It was a fantastic joint effort and I can’t thank everybody enough.”
-ABC