Show saves house

By Melissa Meehan
GUY ALLEN’S house stands alone among the destruction untouched by Black Saturday.
The survival of his Steels Creek home has nothing to do with luck.
Back in 1993, Guy would have never thought that visiting a home ideas show would save his life.
“I knew I had bought land in a fire prone area and wanted to do everything I could to protect myself if I ever faced a bushfire,” he said.
“At the home ideas show I learnt about autoclave aerated concrete bricks and that there was no need to have a wooden frame on the house.”
It took Guy three years, with his bare hands, to build his home.
“There is no external timber, the roof is made of metal, there’s metal roof trusses, no materials that can combust in the heat,” he said.
Looking out of his double paned windows with his trusty companion Buzz, Guy saw the fires heading towards Steels Creek around 4.30pm on Black Saturday.
“There was no warning, I knew we were at risk and I was listening to the radio, but seeing the fires was our first warning,” he said.
Within 30 minutes spot fires surrounded his property.
“At about 5pm the main fire front came through from the north west,” he said.
“It all went OK, my sprinklers worked well and I was able to fight the fires.”
Then the wind changed.
“Embers from the fire came in strong, they caught on the car port and then set my three cars alight,” he said.
“I couldn’t fight it anymore.”
Guy then ran into his house.
“The metal door between the carport and the house was giving out toxic fumes through the house, so I had to close all the doors and retreat to the back of the house with Buzz,” he said. “We waited until the front had passed, then got back to putting out the spot fires.” Staying at his girlfriend’s house in Wandin, Guy wants to continue his life in Steels Creek – but not yet.
“It’s a bleak place to live at the moment,” he said. “Some of my neighbours have died and everything else is just ash. It really is a disaster.”