TOMAKIN residents Graeme Hamilton and Claudia Quinton left home on Friday night to attend the weekly badge draw at the Tomakin Sports and Social Club.
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They returned home to find their home largely destroyed by fire.
An electrical fault in a beer fridge in the couple’s enclosed veranda is believed to have sparked the fire, which consumed the room and spread through the roof to their lounge room.
The couple’s kitchen, dining room and bedroom are also extensively damaged by smoke and water.
A Moruya Fire and Rescue spokesman said the Yarralumla Crescent home caught alight about 7pm on Friday.
He praised the quick-thinking of neighbour, off-duty Batemans Bay Fire and Rescue permanent firefighter Nathan Pascoe, who extinguished the majority of the fire with a garden house before crews arrived.
The spokesman said Moruya Fire and Rescue and Candalagan Rural Fire Service cut holes in the roof to continue the fight.
Mr Hamilton and Ms Quinton are devastated.
Ms Quinton’s father, who passed away suddenly two years ago, built the enclosed veranda and much of the furniture in the now-ruined home.
“It’s just depressing,” Mr Hamilton said.
“You leave home and it’s beautiful, and you come back and it looks like that.”
A shining light however has been how emergency service crews and the Tomakin community have rallied behind them.
“The Tomakin community is just unbelievable,” Ms Quinton said.
“That night is just a blur, but so many people were around and have messaged me and I just don’t know what to say.
“I’m usually the one helping other people; I’m not used to getting this.
“We’d like to say a very special thanks to the firies and the police - they were all so caring.
“To say ‘thank you’ just doesn’t sound enough.”
The couple is staying in friend Angela Hourigan’s nearby holiday home.
“We could have had 100 beds to sleep in that night – for a little community they all rally around,” Mr Hamilton said.
“We appreciate what they tried to do.”
Kmart also came to the party on Tuesday, treating Ms Quinton to a shopping spree for clothes.
Ms Quinton’s best friend and neighbour Trina James has launched an appeal for the couple’s immediate costs.
Related coverage: Tomakin fire appeal launched