ID :
104519
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 08:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/104519
The shortlink copeid
Bushfire arrests cause pain for widow
This week's arrest of two teenage boys charged with lighting the Bendigo bushfire on
Black Saturday was distressing for widow Carol Kane.
Mrs Kane lost her husband Kevin "Mick" Kane after a bushfire spread to their home at
Long Gully, on the outskirts of Bendigo, on February 7 last year.
The heart-wrenching story about how Mr Kane's sister Gillian and her partner Michael
Ryan tried to help her save her husband was told at the Bushfires Royal Commission
last year.
Mr Kane was the only person in Bendigo killed in the fires, which caused $23.5
million in damage around the city, with 58 properties destroyed and 778 hectares
burnt.
"I am trying not to think about it because I get all worked up and it becomes drawn
out. I want it to be over," Mrs Kane told AAP.
"You think about it every day but that does not mean you want to relive it like a
movie."
Mr Kane, 48, was heavy, weighing about 110kg, used a walking stick and suffered poor
health, with his wife being his carer.
He died when he fell over trying to evacuate, with Mrs Kane unable to pull him on to
his feet.
Mr Ryan tried to save him but the fire that had been hundreds of metres away was
suddenly at their feet as pencil pine trees on the property started exploding.
"I was relieved and thought everything was going to be OK when Michael went to get
Mick," Mrs Kane said.
"Suddenly there was thick, rancid smoke and I couldn't see anything."
Mr Kane was burnt to death.
The couple would have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in January and Mrs
Kane said she deeply loved her husband.
"God, I loved him. We have gone through all the surgery he had had together and we
were a little family with our cats," she said.
"We were only on a pension but we were happy."
Mrs Kane is now a carer for her elderly mother.
A crowd of about 10 people shouted at one of the charged boys outside court on
Tuesday, saying "show us your face".
The boys, aged 14 and 15, have been charged with arson causing death and 135 counts
each of criminal damage by fire.
They were released on bail on Tuesday, with both to reappear in court in May.
This Sunday is the first anniversary of the Black Saturday fires that killed 173
people across Victoria and destroyed more than 2000 properties.
Black Saturday was distressing for widow Carol Kane.
Mrs Kane lost her husband Kevin "Mick" Kane after a bushfire spread to their home at
Long Gully, on the outskirts of Bendigo, on February 7 last year.
The heart-wrenching story about how Mr Kane's sister Gillian and her partner Michael
Ryan tried to help her save her husband was told at the Bushfires Royal Commission
last year.
Mr Kane was the only person in Bendigo killed in the fires, which caused $23.5
million in damage around the city, with 58 properties destroyed and 778 hectares
burnt.
"I am trying not to think about it because I get all worked up and it becomes drawn
out. I want it to be over," Mrs Kane told AAP.
"You think about it every day but that does not mean you want to relive it like a
movie."
Mr Kane, 48, was heavy, weighing about 110kg, used a walking stick and suffered poor
health, with his wife being his carer.
He died when he fell over trying to evacuate, with Mrs Kane unable to pull him on to
his feet.
Mr Ryan tried to save him but the fire that had been hundreds of metres away was
suddenly at their feet as pencil pine trees on the property started exploding.
"I was relieved and thought everything was going to be OK when Michael went to get
Mick," Mrs Kane said.
"Suddenly there was thick, rancid smoke and I couldn't see anything."
Mr Kane was burnt to death.
The couple would have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in January and Mrs
Kane said she deeply loved her husband.
"God, I loved him. We have gone through all the surgery he had had together and we
were a little family with our cats," she said.
"We were only on a pension but we were happy."
Mrs Kane is now a carer for her elderly mother.
A crowd of about 10 people shouted at one of the charged boys outside court on
Tuesday, saying "show us your face".
The boys, aged 14 and 15, have been charged with arson causing death and 135 counts
each of criminal damage by fire.
They were released on bail on Tuesday, with both to reappear in court in May.
This Sunday is the first anniversary of the Black Saturday fires that killed 173
people across Victoria and destroyed more than 2000 properties.
