Lucky escape

By Bridget Cook
IT WAS meant to be a girls’ weekend away of pampering, laughs and 30th birthday celebrations for Tooradin resident Angela Cook and her five friends.
But for the girls, four of them expectant mothers at the time, it became a desperate fight to escape the raging inferno that swept through Marysville on Black Saturday.
It wasn’t until they made it home that they realised just how close they had come to death.
Their hasty escape from Marysville, just two minutes before a car crash that blocked the road out, was literally the difference between life and death.
Those who stayed behind at the Cumberland Villa and Day Spa perished in the fire.
Just hours after arriving at the Cumberland on Black Saturday the women found themselves in a three-car convoy fleeing from the inferno that wiped out Marysville.
Angela Cook, Bridget Soumilas, Vivienne Thompson, Belinda Hengel, Jade DeFazio and Stephanie Meharry left Marysville at 5.48pm after they received a warning.
The main fire front swept through Marysville just after 6pm.
They spent the night in Yea, where they visited the evacuation point before making for Melbourne on Sunday.
Now, one year on from their trip through hell, Angela reflects on how lucky they were to escape.
In the past year the four expectant mothers all gave birth to healthy babies.
Vivienne had Ella on 12 February and Bridget gave birth to Daisy on 31 March. Jade had Lewis on 14 April and Angela gave birth to Madeline on 25 April.
The women and their families returned to Marysville in November for the Marysville Marathon.
“It was really good because it was the first time we had all been back, apart from Bridget,” Angela said.
“We parked our cars where the Cumberland used to be.
“Some of the girls found it really full on, but because of the fun run the car parks and the cafe were full so there was a good atmosphere.”
In September the women did another “girls’ weekend” away in Inverloch. “We had a great weekend and there was a lot of talk about Marysville … especially after a few wines,” Angela said.
She said she still found it hard to watch television when there were stories about Black Saturday.
“It’s hard because we were so close to being in a situation like that,” she said.
“One of us going back for a bag or something could have been the difference between life and death.”