I was BURIED in BURNING ASH

Rachael Peters, 33, Elermore Vale, NSW

As footage of ferocious infernos played on TV, my heart broke.

It was December 2019, and since the bushfires first erupted in New South Wales two months earlier, my eyes had been glued to the screen.

By now, every state across the country was burning.

The city of Newcastle had remained relatively unscathed, but a car crash had sparked a threatening blaze in the nearby town of Pelaw Main, around 10 minutes from our home.

Outside, thick smoke