"Why me ... again?": Mid North Coast family loses their fire replacement house in freak storm

One of the few things that survived the inferno on their property was a 20-year-old besser block shed which Aron had slowly been converting into their replacement home.

It was cramped and a little less than ideal, but it was much better than the caravan alternative. And it had become home.

Last week, a freak storm cell whipped through the South Arm community causing devastation yet again.

This time the besser block shed wasn't so lucky.

Thankfully the couple and their two sons were not home at the time the wind tore the roof from their home.

"But we nearly were - we tried to get home and we were stopped at the gate when the hail started," Janet said.

"When the hail hit the wind picked up. I had my high beams on and you couldn't see a thing.

"I thought the windscreen was gonna smash in my face. (My son) Braiden was screaming."

"They were big as golf balls," Braiden said.

Janet turned the car around and drove the 500m back to her neighbour's house to wait out the storm.

"It was the scariest drive of my life, and I've lost a tyre doing 100kph on the freeway before," she said.

"I was really shaking, but trying to hold it together for the kids.

"We've had windstorms up here before, but nothing like that."

It was all over in 15 minutes.

"Just like that there were blue skies again, and the kids were running around picking up hail stones," Janet said.

"I was on the verandah with Kara (her neighbour) assessing the damage done to all the trees when I looked up the hill and saw the roof from our house lying on the ground.

"I just thought 'why me ... again?'.

"For about 10 minutes I was in one of the worst panic attacks I've ever had. I was in a foetal position, hyperventilating.

Three months ago the family's post-fire replacement water tank was washed away in the December floods.

And last week's vicious storm had not only torn the roof off the house, it also collapsed two of the walls.

The home's contents were saturated, including the kids' new Playstation.

Janet was able to salvage a few school uniforms and some pairs of clothes.

Luckily Aron was able to hook up the generator to the stocked freezer before the food spoiled.

The family's animals were all found, thankfully unharmed.

And friends are accommodating the family until they can move back onto their property and into the two shipping containers they own.

But the storm has left an almighty mess.

"We were still cleaning up after the fires, and it's just like - where do we even start now?," Janet said, tearfully.

Unfortunately the house wasn't insured yet; the family was in the process of getting an engineer's report to apply for a DA and declare the building a legal dwelling so it could be insured.

"We've got no money left to rebuild. And I've got animals so I can't just leave," Janet said.

Janet's friend Lori Wilson has set up a GoFundMe page to try to raise money to help the family get back on their feet.

"Nobody deserves this much devastation in their lives," Lori said.

The fundraiser has attracted nearly $3000 in donations over the past 24 hours. But there's a way to go before the $25K target is reached.

For the Fullick family it's just one foot in front of the other ... again.

"At the moment we're just trying to get the kids to feel better and bring some normalcy into their lives," Janet said.

"Then we can dare to hope for a roof over their heads that's not going to burn down or blow down the hill.

"At least we know the shipping containers can survive a storm."

This experience has again proved the need for mobile phone reception in the notorious black spot.

A number of other South Arm locals were taken by surprise by the fierceness of the storm.

John Pettit, who also lost his house in the November 8 fires, became trapped in his car when trees fell across it.

Without mobile reception, he was unable to call for help. He was rescued about three hours later when neighbours came to do welfare checks on everyone.

"South Arm had no power, we had no way of contacting the outside world. I went in to town to call family and managed to find my best friend, Lori, and her mum in town who had no idea what had just happened," Janet said.

"Lori called council and SES for assistance. Council arrived later that night with an army of trucks and machinery clearing the roads, as many residents by this time were stranded - unable to get home.

"Our biggest issue is no mobile reception, this was pointed out after the fires and now I'm pointing it out again.

"John should not have had to wait three hours stuck in his car. I definitely shouldn't have been driving in to town in my state of shock just to make a phone call, I could have killed someone or myself!

"We need a mobile tower. We need to be able to contact people in situations like this. People are still rebuilding, and this is what we need."

This is the second time in a year the need for mobile reception in notorious black spots has made local news.

In November last year Thumb Creek local Andy Gordon was lucky to survive the night when he became pinned under his car.

There have been representations made by the community and by council to secure a tower in South Arm, but nothing has come of it yet.

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