Fire brigade captain called to fight fire at own house
The captain of a Victorian country fire brigade got a shock on Sunday when she was called to a fire at her own address.
Local CFA volunteers in Warburton, east of Melbourne, received the call while gathering at their fire station to celebrate a longstanding memberâs 80th birthday.
Captain Hazel Clothier was about to give a speech when a message came through on the brigadeâs pager system.
âI picked up the pager, looked at the address and realised it was my own house,â Ms Clothier told ABC Radio.
She said she couldnât really remember much about the moment, other than that it was âkind of surrealâ.
âI can just remember calling out and saying âthatâs my houseâ.â
âVery luckyâ house is still standing
Ms Clothier said soon after she saw the message her instincts as a firefighter kicked in.
âItâs the same job, whether itâs my house or anybody elseâs,â she said.
She said she was âvery luckyâ that the blaze came at a time when there were so many firefighters already gathered at the station, so they could get moving quickly.
With the help of the local SES, the volunteers contained the fire to the roof of the house.
âNobody was hurt, everybody was out, so thatâs all good.
âIt was a fantastic joint effort and I canât thank everybody enough.â
-ABC








