The ‘Bush Hack’ That Saved Eight Homes from the Longwood Inferno

RUFFY:  As a wall of flames from the Longwood bushfire bore down on the small town of Ruffy in Victoria’s north-east, a group of local farriers and neighbors found themselves facing a catastrophe with almost no equipment.

What they did have was a 1963 Austin truck and a carton of eggs.

When the fire hit on Thursday, Kim and Dan Leach, who run a local farrier business, refused to flee. They assembled a ragtag team of 12 neighbors and workers, including Chris Hewlett and Jack Charnock, to stand their ground.

The team lacked basic firefighting gear—no respirators, no goggles, and no fireproof suits. “We just had wet towels and jeans,” Chris Hewlett recalled. “We just wet ourselves down and got to work.”

From their home and farrier business, Kim and Dan Leach cobbled together a group of 12 neighbours and workers to stay and fight.

Their “fleet” consisted of four trucks, the most notable being a 63-year-old vintage Austin. However, as the heat intensified on the fireground, the veteran vehicle’s radiator began to fail, threatening to leave the defenders stranded and defenseless.

In a moment of classic Australian “bush hacking,” the team turned to a carton of eggs. “If you’ve got a hole in your radiator, you get the egg whites,” Chris explained. The old trick worked—the egg whites cooked in the heat, sealing the leaks and keeping the 1963 Austin pumping water throughout the night.

Thanks to the makeshift repair and the team’s sheer determination, eight homes and small farms were saved from total destruction.

Despite their victory, the town of Ruffy remains in mourning. Local CFA Captain George Noye confirmed today that 30 homes, the primary school, the old church, and the local pavilion were “obliterated” by the blaze.

“There’s a lot of heartache,” Captain Noye said. But for eight families in Ruffy, the “Egg White Miracle” is the only reason they still have a roof over their heads tonight.