General News
16 January, 2026
Local firefighter recounts frontline battle
“Neither God nor man could have stopped that fire.” Fighting alongside volunteers, Brad Arnold watched three homes burn - mates’ homes - knowing there was nothing that could be done but evacuate and protect lives.
Brad Arnold lives and works in the Natimuk/Quantong area.
As soon as he received the Grass Flat fire alert on Friday, he called his partner Merryn, and his father Elston, to warn them.
"At that stage, we had no idea of the speed and size of the fire, but that quickly changed," he said.
Brad had a front row seat to the fire that tore through small communities on Friday as he fought alongside many volunteers.
He was on Brian Klowss' farm unit when the front of the fire came through.
"It was incredible to see and almost impossible to describe," he said.
"As it headed towards the home of one of the firefighters with us, we asked him if we should try to save it, and he just said there was nothing we could do; all we could do was watch it go up in flames.
"We saw three homes go and that's tough to see when it's your mates, and you're helpless.
"We couldn't get the water to the fire in some cases because the intense heat dried up the water before it hit the fire."
Brad said seasoned firefighters on the ground with decades of experience believed trying to put the fire out was hopeless.
The priority had to be evacuation to save lives and protect assets.
"But we couldn't save all of them; working alongside people whose homes and businesses burned while they fought the fires was tough," he said.
"I really admire the effort and the commitment of the firefighters, both CFA volunteers and the guys on their private units; everyone played a part."
Brad said he will never forget seeing fireballs roll across the paddock, even when there was no fuel to burn.
"It was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen," he said.
Brad said one of the challenges of the fire was the re-ignition of spot fires.
"They would just re-ignite as soon as we had put them out," he said.
But among the horror of the fire, there was some humour when a firefighter was bitten by a possum that was understandably in a bad mood.
On a more serious note, one firefighter injured his eyelids; the fact that there were no serious injuries or lives lost was a positive outcome.
While Brad was on the fireground, his father received a message about the fire from a son in Horsham, so he left his home of 45 years and joined Merryn at her home.
When Brad saw the front of the fire heading towards Natimuk, he called his dad and partner and told them to leave Natimuk and go to Horsham immediately because he saw there was a real possibility they would not be able to defend the town.
"I didn't pack much, I just got in the car and left," Elston said.
The fire burned along the creek in front of his house and up to the back fence.
"The fire burned the paddock behind my place and along the front too, so I was fortunate that my house didn't burn," he said.
"I think the change in the wind direction helped."
While Elston has some cleaning up to do in his yard and inside the house from ash, debris, and dust, he considers himself lucky.
"One of the guys said, 'Neither God nor man could have stopped that fire,' that's how bad it was," Brad said.