Volunteer firefighter sacrifices own house to save others in Australia wildfires: ‘We have jobs to do’

The man returned to his home in the morning – and found it in ruins

A volunteer firefighter lost his house to wildfire as he tried to save other people’s homes from the blaze.

Australian Russell Scholes said he headed to his fire station because he “did not have time” to stay at his home if he was to join the rescue effort.

“We had jobs to do,” he told the BBC.

His team had been told to move to the next property if a building was already on fire. His own home in Balmoral, New South Wales, had begun to burn.

He said staying “would have made it more difficult for me to do my job”. He added: “Out of sight, out of mind. Go and do what you’ve got to do.”

He was fighting the bushfires that have ravaged parts of Australia over the past few months, destroying more than 900 homes and killing at least nine people.

Almost 800 homes have burned in New South Wales, which last week was paralysed by a seven-day state of emergency amid catastrophic conditions.

Mr Scholes said he came back to see his house in the morning and found it in ruins. “She made me cry,” he said.

The volunteer said it would have “made no sense at all” for him to watch over his own house instead of protecting others as his home was “already burnt”.

He said he had removed everything of sentimental value from his home as he “knew what was coming”.

“I loved the house,” he said, “but it’s just a thing.”

He added: “My family is safe, my animals are safe, and we helped protect the community. For me, that is more important than the house.”

Around 200 wildfires were burning in four states at the start of the week, with more than half of them in New South Wales, including 60 fires not contained.

The state’s Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, said he expects to see “a meaningful reprieve in the weather” in four to six weeks’ time.

Additional reporting by Associated Press