Her Northcote Street home had come incredibly close to going up in flames during last Wednesday’s bushfire.

But thanks to the actions of her mother Dianne Doyle, Ms Loux’s home is still standing and her pets are alive.

Ms Doyle went to her daughter’s house to put the check on the animals around 1.45pm that afternoon.

She put the cat, Ollie, in the house and Boo the rabbit in the laundry.

“I no sooner got home and the neighbours called and said, ‘you’d better get back up here’,” Ms Doyle said.

Northcote Street had been blocked off, so she went around into Butler Parade and jumped their back neighbour’s fence – not realising residents had been told to leave.

“I feel silly, but all I could think about was the animals,” Mrs Doyle said.

“There was so much smoke I thought I was in the wrong yard.”

Ms Doyle noticed flames near the side of the house and started hosing.

It was only later on that she realised the wooden gate attached to the house was on fire, and that she had extinguished the blaze – effectively saving the house.

She went around the front and saw the neighbours’ hoses abandoned on each side of the house.

“I just grabbed the hose and kept on going, I didn’t realised all the neighbours had been evacuated,” she said.

Ms Doyle’s husband Chris watched it all unfold from the end of the street and said it was a miracle no homes were lost.

“All of a sudden it came to the end of the road, and I thought the houses were gone,” he said.

“Then the wind turned 90 degrees, it was unbelievable, like an act of God.”

Ms Loux said she was amazed by her mother’s bravery.

“Her actions saved my house and animals,” she said.

“I’m so impressed by her huge heart.”

Ms Loux said it was also lucky that she had cleared dead palm trees and cleaned out her gutters before she left for holidays.

Trimming overhanging trees and shrubs and clearing debris from gutters are integral part of the Rural Fire Service’s bushfire survival plan, along with mowing grass, removing flammable materials and having a sturdy hose that will reach all the way around your home.