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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly in Longwood

CFA volunteer Simon fought the fire that destroyed his own home: ‘I knew eventually it would get to us’

CFA Longwood Jason Heffernan Country Fire Authority Victoria
Victorian CFA volunteer Simon Crisp
CFA volunteer Simon Crisp is treated for blisters in Longwood after his weekender, which has been in the family for 30 years, was destroyed by fire. Photograph: Steve Womersley/The Guardian

All that’s left of the weekend home Simon Crisp built near Longwood, 150km north of Melbourne, is the chimney and the bathtub. The rest is a pile of warped rubble and ash.

“I knew that eventually the fire would get to us, because for the previous 12 hours it had been coming in our direction, creeping up,” Crisp says.

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