"The wind was like a fireball... it was horrifying, absolutely horrifying and I hope to God I never have to go through that again because it was like hell."
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Kim Hinton understandably paused and cried several times as she recounted the loss of her Bobin home in the recent bushfire crisis.
Her story shows how quickly things can change during a bushfire.
According to Kim, the morning started with clear sky and no presence of smoke.
It wasn't until she began to wash clothes, when smoke began to appear. Thinking it stemmed from a fire further away she proceeded to go about her normal business.
Soon after, neighbours called out to Kim and her husband Terry about an approaching bushfire.
"We didn't take much notice but they kept yelling more and said 'there's a fire you've got to get out' and we thought no we're safe, they'll get the bombers in and the fire truck," Kim explained.
Within no time, the bushfire came over a hill and headed towards the houses. The fire swept across a neighbouring property before moving onto the Hintons' home.
"I was in the garage when Terry said 'you've got to go'," Kim said.
Kim sat in her car with the couple's dogs and waited for the next instructions. By then, a fire truck had arrived at the scene.
"All of a sudden I saw flames at the fence on (neighbour) Margaret's side and he (Terry) said 'you've got to get out of the car, the safest thing to do is get in the fire truck'," Kim said.
Kim and the dogs climbed inside the fire truck, only to turn around and watch the house go up in flames.
"As the firies were walking up they said 'I'm sorry we can't save your house'," Kim said.
"I was still in denial, I thought we could save it.
"All the time while we were watering out the front we thought that water would save us... but it didn't save us."
The rented house was one of the oldest in Bobin. "There's nothing left of it," Kim conceded.
The fire truck only had about a quarter of a tank left after battling blazes beforehand. "What could they do," Kim said.
In tears, Kim drove with the dogs to Bobin Hall.
Here she was approached by a freelance journalist who guided Kim and Terry, who had arrived in a separate vehicle, to Marlee.
Terry was later admitted to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.
All the time while we were watering out the front we thought that water would save us... but it didn't save us.
- Kim Hinton
Kim then arrived at the Club Taree evacuation centre. It was here she made national headlines through an interview with the Seven Network.
"That got on the morning news and that's how my family found out," Kim said.
Kim and Terry stayed at a bed and breakfast and in Newcastle before returning to the Manning.
They now have temporary accommodation at a motel.
Visibly shaken by the trauma, Kim said her nerves have taken a toll.
She held back tears before describing the community support shown through the crisis.
"I'm touched," Kim said.
Kim visited Taree Showground earlier this week to pick up clothes and toiletries.
Humbled by the Rotary's Club of Taree on Manning/Taree Lions Club fire relief fund, Kim will use her Eftpos card to first purchase storage containers.
"There's so many of us out there," Kim said as she looked around at other bushfire victims at the temporary relief centre in Taree.
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