Bob & Fiona Ethell

The Ethell family saved the hall, and the hall saved them. Bill and Fiona and their two children Bob and Jenny had to dodge flames and falling power poles to get to the Aireys Inlet Hall, where they managed to douse sections of the building that caught fire as the front came through. They stayed in Aireys Inlet throughout the ordeal and have an astonishing first-hand account of the town burning, and the return of emergency services and residents in the days following the disaster.

For Bob and Fiona, Ash Wednesday was the death knell for the sleepy little village they had known. They lost their house, and rebuilt, but the events of 1983 eventually convinced them to move inland to live amidst grassland where they could protect themselves with Bob’s extensive career experience of fighting fires.