The Spurr family are thankful for small miracles after a devastating fire destroyed their 100-year-old home and much of their farming property last Friday but all their horses survived unscathed.
Tom and Amanda Spurr had 80 horses on the property near Arthur River, 200km south-east of Perth, including their stallion Shoobees Place and couple of yearlings being prepared by their son Josh for the Perth Yearling Sale.
The fire was fanned by gusty winds and the family had to leave with little but the clothes they were wearing.
It engulfed the home, stables, sheds, machinery and most of the recently baled hay on the farm.
Josh Spurr said they had just minutes to release the stabled horses and flee the blaze.
“All the horses were on the property but thankfully all of them survived and were uninjured,” Josh Spurr said.
“We managed to let all the horses in the stables loose just seconds before the flames came and they managed to run away.
“The horses in the paddocks avoided the fire and saved themselves. The volunteer firefighters said the horses ‘knew what they were doing’.
“I thought we would have lost some due to smoke inhalation due to how thick it was, because it was almost impossible to breath. But thankfully we didn’t lose any.”
The Spurrs have been strong supporters of harness racing for more than 50 years.
Tom Spurr has stood stallions since the 1970s – including well known sires Reason Why and Armbro Intercept.
He is a brother to Wagin harness club president and breeder Kevin Spurr and another brother, Matt, was a successful trainer-reinsman.
His daughter Samantha, who visited the farm with her young family just a couple of weeks before the fire, said they needed help from the community.
“It is awful. Mum and Dad have lost everything – all their clothes, family photos. A lifetime of memories,” Samantha Spurr said.
“Just a couple of weeks ago, I was riding (her retired pinto pacer) Paddy in paddocks full of hay. They are all gone.
“They need a lot of feed for the stock. My brother, Josh, lost his float. We are hoping someone might be able to donate a float, so he can move some horses around.”
By APG Media
