Murchison family home survives in blaze

Jan 6, 2020

A Murchison family were forced to evacuate when a fire started behind their property on Saturday.

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Danielle Sampson, her partner Ross Downie, and their six children saw the fire spreading from their back paddock and decided to leave.

Ms Sampson said "a sound fire plan" meant her family evacuated in less than four minutes.

“The first alert was the smell of smoke – then, we received an alert on the VicEmergency app, saying there was a building fire in Murchison,” she said.

“When we looked closer, we realised it was right behind us.”

The fire was 500 m from their home and listed as small.

But Ms Sampson, 47, and Mr Downie, 44, said given Saturday’s strong winds, extreme temperatures, firetruck sirens and smoke levels in the air, her family didn't want to take the risk.

“The kids all filled their water bottles, put on appropriate clothing and as soon as the Vic app said there were 17 trucks attending, we decided it was time to leave,” she said.

“Our eldest daughter said it was the most frightening thing she’s ever experienced.”

Ms Sampson said they remained on alert for a few hours before they returned home.

“We’re so proud of our kids for listening to us and not freaking out,” she said.

CFA District 22 operations officer Pete Dedman said 18 units tackled the 8 ha blaze.

“Two shipping containers were destroyed, and we’re not aware of any animals,” he said.

“We don’t believe the fire is suspicious, but at this stage, we’re unable to investigate due to the commitment we’ve got to other fires around the state.

“There was always a potential for the fire being in an urbanised area and assets were under threat, which is why we considered as many resources as we did.”