Geurie family left with nothing after fire rips through their home

It had been another normal morning for the Wright family on Thursday, September 7 as the kids played in their bedrooms and Cass and her husband relaxed in another room.

But that all changed when the smoke detector alerted them that something was very wrong.

Opening the door to the front room of the house, Ms Wright found herself smothered in black smoke so thick it was hard to breathe.

Thinking fast, Ms Wright ran to her children's rooms - the same direction the fire was heading.

Grabbing her three-year-old son, she noticed the fire had singed his hair and part of his pyjamas.

Then without looking back, the family raced out of the home.

"We ran out in our pyjamas, no shoes on our feet, nothing," she said.

All Ms Wright had was her mobile phone, which had been in her hand when the smoke detector went off.

"The black smoke was so overwhelming, it was so thick, if we even wanted to go back and grab anything we couldn't," she said.

"It just overwhelmed the house so quickly."

With tears streaming down her face, Ms Wright watched in horror as the front of the house was engulfed in fire, and called the RFS.

By the time the first fire brigade arrived, the whole house was alight.

Twenty minutes later, the whole house was gone.

"I just can't believe how quickly it went," she said.

"It was terrifying and it was just awful to sit down and watch it just go ... everything we have ever worked so hard for - gone."

With no insurance, the Wright family didn't just lose their home, but all of their belongings.

"My handbag that had my wallet, my glasses, our identification, my husband's phone, everything is gone," Ms Wright said.

"We have cars with no car keys."

But more than this are the memories the house held, which Ms Wright continues to mourn.

"Everything the kids have made or bought me over the years that I've cherished and kept is gone," she said.

"It's your whole life, it's the place you feel most safe and the place you go at the end of the day and it's all gone.

"It was so close, it was scary, I just thought if we were sleeping we wouldn't be here to tell the story.

"We were so lucky."

Now, the family is living with Ms Wright's father - directly across from where her house burnt down.

"We see it every day, the kids see it every day and they just want to go home," she said.

"My three-year-old asks for his 'blankie' and cries over it and how do you tell them there is no home anymore?"

While being able to stay with her parents has been a blessing, it isn't long term.

Having linked up with different services around the region, Ms Wright said it's the "not knowing" that's been really hard.

"We're trying to stay in Geurie because my son is due to start school and has been doing the transition classes," she said.

"He has learning disabilities so it being a small school is great for him and he doesn't do well with change and we want to keep as much stability as we can in this situation."

As the family rolls with punches, the Geurie community has been rallying.

"It's been overwhelming, they've given us so much compassion and I've had people crying with me and for me and people have brought boxes of stuff over," she said.

Items ranging from adults and kids clothing and shoes to furniture for when they get back on their feet.

"People we've never met are bringing stuff, it's incredibly heartwarming, they really are an incredible mob around here," she said.

Ms Wright said the generosity people have shown her family has been incredible, with her children's preschool doing a fundraiser, as well as local sporting clubs.

Ms Wright's daughter Shay has also set up a GoFundMe to raise some money to get her parents back on their feet.

So far, they have raised $3500, which will go towards a bond for a rental as well as other household items they need to replace.

If you would like to help out, you can do so here.

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