A man has shared his story of how he managed to survive the blaze after he got trapped in a raging bushfire and severely burned.
As 52-year-old Roy Annesley from Yarranbella, New South Wales, Australia, explained, he had just wrapped us his work at the Bowraville Saw Mill when he spotted a cloud of smoke some 13 miles away.
After his friend informed him he was evacuating from the area, the single father decided it was time to leave as well.
“I had gone home to get my stuff to evacuate and was still sitting on my motorbike in the driveway – then bang, it got me,” Mr. Annesley said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
As the single father explained, the fire appeared out of nowhere and “there was no way you could outrun it” according to what he told The Land.
Despite instantly suffering burns, the single dad freed his dog to give him a fighting chance before jumping in a barrel filled with water to protect himself from the flames.
As the fire ravaged the man’s home, the aluminum had also started melting, prompting the man to jump out of the water tank and attempt to run away.
After making a getaway, Annesley landed in molten aluminum that severely burned his feet and legs.
Then, the 52-year-old walked nearly a mile to reach his neighbor’s home where he collapsed to the ground.
After waking up, the man attempted to flee using his neighbor’s car but found himself trapped in by fallen trees and fire, prompting him to return to his neighbor’s house where he passed out once more.
The following day, Annesley was found alive with severe burns to 55% of his body. He was placed in an induced coma and received skin grafts to cover burned out spots on his feet, legs, and hands.
While Annesley is lucky to be alive, he faces a long recovery and was left with no home to return to. In addition, he had also taken a substantial loan to improve his home just months before it got burned to the ground.
“The worst part of it is trying to get everything working again properly. My hands don’t work … my arms I can’t straighten properly. Legs are the same,” he said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
As Annesley added, he simply wishes to return home and start working again. Since his house burned, he will be temporarily staying in a bus he bought with donations raised by his son on GoFundMe.
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Replaced!