IT IS Hayley Irving’s birthday on Saturday and all she wants for turning 12 is somewhere for her and her family to live after their Moama home was destroyed by fire at the weekend.
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Leaving her single mother Alisha, and four siblings (Daniel, Tyrone, Dakota and Tiarna), with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.
And while they have been overwhelmed by community support, starting over isn't beyond Alisha and her children.
While she is still trying to work out the next step, you can expect Alisha's family will be back stronger than ever.
“I’m still in quite a bit of shock and what has happened hasn’t hit me just yet,” she said.
“A lot of our belongings are either burnt or smoke damaged. I was only five minutes away from home after finishing a shift at work when my neighbour called to say the house was on fire.
“The biggest relief is that no-one was hurt, and all the kids are okay.
“I’ve rebuilt my life before and I’m going to do it again — this isn’t going to stop me or my family.”
Two of Alisha’s daughters were in the home when the fire started but thanks to some quick-thinking neighbours they were brought to safety.
“The girls are very shaken,” she said.
“Our neighbours took the girls inside when it was all unfolding and tried to calm them down, which I really appreciate.”
As the family continue to come to grips with their loss, the Echuca-Moama community has already rallied to offer support.
The owner of iDance, Jacqui Kornmann, has given Hayley some birthday cheer — gifting her with a package of new uniforms so the birthday girl can continue dancing.
While Moama Public School has donated uniforms to the two youngest children.
“It’s been unbelievable just how many people have been offering us items and money,” Alisha said.
“One of the neighbours, whose house suffered fire damage only a couple of years ago, came up to me to give me $100 and said, ‘you helped me back then so now it’s my turn to help you’.
“This year has been really tough for everyone so I’m very grateful people are willing to be so giving.
“A special thanks to all my friends who have reached out and made sure we're okay and given up their time to help us.”
The family have temporarily moved in with Alisha’s partner and his mother as they look to assess the next stage of their lives.
“It’s a bit of a squeeze at the moment but we will make it work,” Alisha said.
“Over the next few days, we will go to the house and salvage what we are able to.
“I’d like to say thanks to my boss and colleagues from Echuca Regional Health who have been so supportive over the past few days.
“The kids are receiving a lot of support from the schools and I really appreciate what they’re doing to help us get back on our feet.”
Since the ordeal, Alisha has been looking to find any positive she can.
The latest came on Tuesday as Alisha and her friends attempted to salvage anything they could from the ashes.
“We found our cat, Mufasa, who we hadn’t seen since the fire,” she said.
“Unfortunately our bird didn’t survive, but our puppy and turtle did.”
Moama Rural Fire Service captain Toby Teasdale said flames were coming out of the roof when crews arrived on scene about 4pm on Sunday.
“There was a large volume of flames at the back of the house,” Mr Teasdale said.
“It took crews about an hour to bring the fire under control and we left the scene about 6.30pm.
“We’re glad there were no injuries in the incident.”
Emergency services are still working to determine the cause.
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