By Jessica Anstice
The Bunyip fire swept through the Tonimbuk paddock Bernard the goat lives in.
Firefighters miraculously found him standing in a one-square metre patch of dirt that didn’t burn.
At about 6.45pm on Sunday the Moorooduc Fire Brigade were tasked to extinguish a fire on the property that also had three houses on it.
When the brigade arrived, the goat was standing in the paddock near a fence along the driveway.
“He was uninjured and very inquisitive as to what the big red fire trucks driving up to him were,” volunteer firefighter Aaron Pinxt said.
Bernard was tethered to a fence post on a very long chain.
“I’m unsure of how he avoided the fire, however there was a patch of dirt that I’m guessing he stood in that didn’t burn whilst all the grass surrounding him was burnt,” he said.
“The fire would’ve burnt right around him and past him, as you can see all the charred earth in the photo.
“Our first instinct was to check him to see if he had any injuries or burns, which we could find none, before finding a container in which we could fill up for him with water.”
Mr Pinxt said he heard on Tuesday morning that Bernard was safe and well-reunited with his owners.
A close friend of Bernard’s owner said the owner believed the goat possibly urinated to dampen the ground surrounding him.
