Live: Natural disaster declarations across NSW as premier thanks 1,500 firefighters
Craig Saxon and his wife Sarra Saxon-Gill say they had only a short time to escape the Koolewong bushfire."Sarra smelled the smoke first," Mr Saxon told the ABC mere metres from the wreckage of their home on the Central Coast."It was just behind the hill, and I said to Sarra, 'Grab the dogs, grab the parrot, grab anything you think is important and just get out of here.'"Sarra Saxon-Gill and her husband Craig Saxon. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)Mrs Saxon-Gill quickly evacuated to her mother's house with the couple's two dogs and pet parrot."We came out in our thongs. We didn't have time to put shoes on," she said.Her husband stayed back to clog the gutters with rags and turn the sprinklers on — only to find there was no water."We thought we were ready, so I stayed back to turn on the sprinkler on the roof, and when I turned it on there was no water pressure," Mr Saxon said.He says if there had been water his property could've been saved."[It's] total devastation. There's nothing really salvageable," he said.
