Kinglake, Australia Resident says It was a "Miracle" and by the "Grace of God" that He Survived

Aimee Herd : Feb 17, 2009
Gareth Trickey – Herald-Sun

"When I was in the fire I thought 'this is just like hell.'"

(Kinglake, Australia)—Jason Lynn experienced horror and grace in the same afternoon during the recent Victoria bushfires in Australia that left massive devastation in their wake.

(To watch the Herald-Sun video report, CLICK HERE.)

Lynn's wife, Ruth, and two children had fled to neighboring town Yea for safety, while Jason stayed behind in an effort to stave off the fire from his property. However, as all too many discovered, there was no way to stop the raging inferno whose flames were leaping and catapulting toward the house, and soon there would be no escape whatsoever. (Photo by: Fiona Hamilton)

"You do fire guard meetings and they show you what it (fire) is like," Lynn told the Herald-Sun. "It comes along the ground, but this thing just came in the sky on the trees.

"When I was in the fire I thought 'this is just like hell,'" he added.

Jason retreated to the roof of his shed with buckets of water as the fire approached, but it began burning from within and exploded—throwing the 35-year-old man to the ground.

Struggling just to get a breath, Jason began running toward a paddock and then for a dam near the back of his property. His boss called him on his cell, urging him to use every last ounce of strength to get to the safety of the dam.

"I just kept going and I could feel the bank of the dam," said Lynn. At this point, he could only crawl, and sensing lightheadedness, he didn't venture in too far, but laid his head in the mud on the side of the dam.

Staying on the cell phone, Jason—bordering delirium by now—listened to the voices of friends and his minister talking to him, trying to keep him conscious.

"They were trying to tell me stuff and I just said 'just listen to me. Tell my wife and my kids that I love them'. I said I can't hang on much longer," he said.

But Jason was able to persevere until help arrived, and he was rescued. He told the Herald-Sun that his survival was a "miracle" and "by the grace of God."

To read the Herald-Sun account, use the source link provided.