General News
17 January, 2026
Veteran CFA volunteer recounts seven-minute blaze that destroyed home
“The worst fire I’ve ever seen.” Fourth-generation Natimuk farmer and CFA veteran Michael Sudholz recounts the Grass Flat blaze that destroyed his family home in minutes.
With decades of experience as a CFA Strike Force volunteer under his belt, fourth-generation Natimuk farmer Michael Sudholz described Friday's devastating fire that tore through his community as the worst he had ever seen.
While he battled the oncoming blaze with his son Kane, his wife Net was trying to find her way out of the house, which was quickly filling with smoke.
Their other son Jake, who had just finished a night shift as a nurse in Horsham, was on his way back to the farm, not knowing if his family was safe.
The family received the alert about the Grass Flat fire during a business meeting.
They immediately began preparations, including turning on sprinklers around the house, but were not concerned until they heard the fire had reached Natimuk.
As the fire reached their property 1.4 km from Natimuk, it quickly took hold.
"I could hear bumping as if someone was on the roof, but instead, I know now in hindsight, it was the roof groaning from the heat of the fire before it burst into flames," Net said,
Melting plastic fireballs dripped into the house through the air vents, so she knew she had to leave immediately.
"I could see the carpet beginning to burn, and the smoke alarms were going off. It was horrific."
"The smoke was so thick I could hardly see, but I knew if I followed the passage I'd make it to the door to get out," she said.
Net remembered Michael's ute was in the garage adjoining the house. The power had gone off, so she tried to open the roller door by hand to get the ute out, but realised there was no time and left it.
The ute burnt with the house.
She put the dogs in her car and drove a short distance to Michael's mother's house on the farm, which was spared.
"I am sure getting into my car saved me," she said. "It had been close,d and the air was clean so I could breathe until I got away."
Footage of the fire on their property shows the house intact at 1.39pm on Friday and completely burnt out at 1.46pm.
"It just took seven minutes," she said.
She received burns to her arms, forehead, and lips.
Sadly, her four Burmese cats perished in the fire.
While this was unfolding for Net, Michael had been working with his son and a friend on their three farm firefighting units to try to stop it from reaching the houses and sheds.
"It was a fireball and went over the top of us; we had no chance to save the house," he said.
Michael wasn't sure whether Net was still in the house, but when he opened the door, he was met by a black curtain of smoke.
"Not only could I not see, but I could not take a breath due to the toxic fumes from the burning building materials," he said.
"I thought she would have got out in time, but I couldn't be certain."
"In CFA training, we were always told to go low when entering a burning building, but there was nowhere to go with this fire.
"The thick, toxic smoke went right to the floor," he said.
He was relieved to find her safe at his mother's house nearby.
Michael joined the CFA at 18 and volunteered for more than 40 years, attending Black Friday fires and the Grampians and Harrow fires.
He attended more than 20 fires with strike teams, and said the speed this travelled across open land had to be seen to be believed.
"When we attended the Harrow fire, we worked in three lines," he said.
"The first line of trucks worked across the head of the fire, and the second and third lines worked across the over-burns, but with this fire, they couldn't get in front of it due to the speed and ferocity."
"When I was first volunteering with the CFA, we burnt the roadside grass every year before fire season, but for the last decade or so, we haven't, due to environmental factors," he said.
Even though controlled burns may not have stopped the fire, he believed they at least slowed the burn, giving firefighters a chance to manage it earlier.
His family keeps the roadside around their property mowed, but late rains this year brought on another growth spurt.
While Michael is keen to know whether this fire will bring change to roadside mowing or burning, he believed nothing would have stopped it except the wind change, which came at about 6pm. Fire crews earlier reported the fire travelling at 90k per hour.
The Sudholz family had high praise for all the firefighters, both CFA volunteers and private units, and everyone else who fought the blaze.
Farmers put themselves between the fire and homes on their own equipment to tine paddocks and create fire breaks, not to save their own properties, but to save everyone else's, including the towns of Natimuk, Quantong, Vectis, and Horsham.e commended," he said.
Michael acknowledged the Premier Jacinta Allan's visit to the Natimuk fire site on Monday.
"Under the circumstances, she may not have come, but she did," he said.
"You don't have to vote for her to recognise that she made the effort, and I was proud of our community, which didn't use the situation for their political agendas.
"If they or we had done that, it would have just caused additional trauma and stress.
"There is time to address the issues facing rural communities, and Monday wasn't the day for that."
The Sudholz family were immediately offered a place to stay by their good friend Pauline Margett, who they say has been their saving grace.
Her support has been paramount in these early days.
The generosity of friends and strangers has been overwhelming, as bags of clothing, offers of houses, and casseroles keep arriving.
"The house burnt and everything in it, but nothing hit home quite as much as when I reached into my pocket for a hankie to wipe my eyes, and I didn't have one, nor could I go and get one," Michael said.
"I asked my mate if he could loan me a hankie and he asked me if I wanted a clean one or a used one, and then we both laughed."
They plan to rebuild and return to live on the farm.
Despite their resilience and optimism, tears are not far away.
They urge everyone to take advantage of free mental health support, which can be arranged by attending the Community Hub at Natimuk Community Centre or by calling the HRCC, which will put you in touch with the right services.
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