It’s Christmas night; you’re visiting family in another town, relaxed and happy poolside, when your phone rings and a neighbour tells you your home — a 40-minute drive away — is engulfed in flames.
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It sounds like a nightmare, right?
A nightmare that was a Wunghnu family’s reality on December 25.
And it was a recurring one, having already lost a family home via the same fate at Nyah West, north of Swan Hill, a couple of decades ago.
Vikki and Stuart Guy, along with their daughter Sophie Guy, 21, lost almost everything but the clothes on their backs when their home burnt to the ground in the ferocious Christmas Day fire.
Granddaughter Annabella Hitchcock, 6, who stays with them regularly, also lost items.
In another kick in the guts, their contents were not insured for the first year ever.
After their annual premium rose sharply from $1800 to $6000 one year to the next due to floods and bushfires in their locality, the pensioners made the risky decision to insure the building only, so they could still afford to live in today’s tough economic climate.
The irony that their attempt to cut costs has now cost them more than they could have imagined is a cruel twist in this community-minded family’s tale.
The CFA did not say how the Kaarimba Rd fire started, but confirmed it was not suspicious.
With information gathered from firefighters, the Guys believe it might have been an electrical fault in a bedroom that delivered their devastation.
The family had left home on Christmas Eve to spend a few festive days at the home of their daughter and her partner in Mooroopna, unaware it would be the last time they’d see their house standing.
Now, displaced and living in temporary accommodation provided free to them by Emerald Bank’s Lloyd Mawson, the family’s future is uncertain.
Members of the Goulburn Valley Vintage Tractors & Farm Machinery Club, which Mr Guy is treasurer of and Mrs Guy volunteers for, have rallied around the family.
They provided a $1000 cash donation on the day of the tragedy for essentials that needed immediate replacing, offered practical hands-on support at the property where the fire occurred and the club’s secretary, Darryl Remnant, established a GoFundMe fundraiser, which had garnered more than $7000 in cash contributions at the time of publication.
“The tractor club is right behind them,” GVVTFMC president Alec Jarvis said.
“They do so much not only for us, but for their whole community.”
Numurkah Singers Theatre and Numurkah Vinnies, which Mrs Guy and Sophie are also involved with, have also lent generous helping hands.
“It’s amazing the amount of support we received even while we were out there (at the smouldering remains of their home on the night of the fire),” Sophie said.
“We just had to stand there and watch, and it makes you feel so helpless,” Mrs Guy said.
“But you’ve just got to let the firies do their job,” Sophie added.
Mr Guy said his family was beyond grateful for the fire brigade’s efforts.
“There were 11 tankers and they had the Shepparton aero-pumper there squirting water into the house. Firefighters were there all night and half the next day,” Mr Guy said.
“We appreciate what everyone is doing for us; we just want to thank everybody for their support.”
“We’re very grateful,” Mrs Guy reiterated.
Sophie said she too was humbled by the outpouring of care from their community.
“I think I’ve cried more about the amount of support we’ve received than the fire itself; every time someone offers us something, I have tears,” she said.
In a remarkable display of resilience, Mr Guy shrugged his shoulders undefeated and said: “This happens, you’ve just gotta move on.”
With the family hopeful but not confident of salvaging some photos and sentimental items when they return to pick through the wreckage, the full extent of what’s been lost from 19 years of living in what they thought was their ‘forever home’ might not be realised for years.
∎ Anyone wanting to donate to the GoFundMe fundraiser for the family can do so at tinyurl.com/mvu9xut9
∎ Below is a list of items lost in the house fire. To donate any of these items, please contact Darryl Remnant on 0490 365 608 or darryl@theremnants.com.au
Senior journalist