Inverell's Brett Savill cannot thank the firefighters who saved his Airport Road property enough.
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After monitoring the blaze for hours, Mr Savill said weather conditions blew flames within 200 metres of his yard on Wednesday afternoon
"It got serious for us around 4pm yesterday afternoon. There were multiple choppers flying around us because the fire was headed our way," he said on Thursday.
A knock on the door from local police around 5pm prompted the Savill family to leave their property in the hands of firefighters.
Facing a dire situation, the family pulled up at Gilgai for the night, but sleep wasn't easy as worry crept through their minds.
"Police told us to leave immediately. As we were driving out there were flames along the road firefighters were trying to contain.
"If the fire jumped Airport Road it would have gotten into the bush and easily hit our house," he said.
Luckily, the family returned home exhausted around 7am to an unscathed property.
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Mr Savill couldn't put into words the respect he had for fire crews on the ground and in the air tasked to the blaze.
"Everything is fine, thank God - but dangerous conditions continue. It is very smokey out here. It's burning bad up in the Ponds, headed towards Gilgai," he said.
Brett expressed concerns for Gilgai residents and other local residents who've been told to leave or seek shelter.
"As far as I'm concerned, firefighters saved my house and they're still out there flogging their guts out to save others. It's amazing and I can't thank them enough really."