Fire and Rescue NSW Moruya branch were one of several Eurobodalla fire crews called to assist at the Carwoola fire, on Friday, February 17.

Captain Mark Gould received the call from owner Bronwen Shelley.

“The lady who owned the house was on holiday in Amsterdam,” Mr Gould said.

Ms Shelley had also posted on Facebook: “I can't thank those amazing firefighters enough, especially Mark Gould from Moruya 384 who saved our place”. 

When the crew from Moruya – Mark Gould, Chris Seery, Matt Arneson and Thom Wells – arrived at the fire scene, the blaze had already burnt out large areas of pastoral and forestry land.

“When we got there, the fire had already gone over the top area,” Mr Gould said.

Mr Gould said he had noticed a few gates and decided to investigate what was up there.

“We came upon a property where the fire was lapping around the edges the house and was already under the veranda. The nearby shed was already on fire,” he said.

Mr Gould said the priority was extinguishing under the house first.

“Once that was out we could focus on the shed – we saved the majority of that too,” he said.

Mr Gould said that his team worked with crew from Crookwell to save that particular house.

“Of course, there was no one at the property,” Mr Gould said.

Mr Gould said he left his card at the house explaining they had used water from the property to help extinguish the fire, which is standard practice.

“Obviously someone had come to check on the place in her absence and let her know,” Mr Gould said.

“I had a phone call from her from overseas thanking us for saving the house.”

At least 56 homes were saved from the Carwoola fire, some by mere inches, as about 200 firefighters, with 50 trucks and 10 aircraft, worked to control the blaze. 

Despite their efforts, 11 homes were lost and another 12 damaged as the blaze burnt about 3500 hectares. Forty-five outbuildings were lost and another 40 damaged. Stock loses are still to be determined.

Mr Gould said it was important for property owners to have a bushfire survival plan in place.

”Also, it would be good if people tidied up a bit around their properties,” he said.

“With less stuff around the place, there is less to burn and it makes it easier for fire crews to access properties in danger.”