Dean Sweeney and his family faced months of housing uncertainty before a kind stranger came to their rescue.
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Since their Batlow property was rendered unlivable in the Dunns Road bushfire, Mr Sweeney, his wife, their three children and the beloved family cat, had been living in holiday accommodation.
"We were going from place to place, packing up and moving again and again," Mr Sweeney said.
Although insurance and government grants covered the $1500 weekly cost of living in these arrangements, the emotional strain of constantly moving was taking its toll.
They were not alone either. According to Snowy Valley Council, many fire-affected residents continue to live in temporary housing while clean-up efforts continue.
One family has been given temporary accommodation at the Batlow caravan park.
A further two families in the council area have been approved for Minderoo pods.
Appearing similar to shipping containers, the pod structures will be delivered to existing properties. They are fully functional dwellings for temporary living while a new home can be sought or built.
With his house still standing but unlivable, these pods were not a workable option for Mr Sweeney.
"If you have a full loss of a house, I think that might even be easier, you can move on then," he said.
"But with partial loss, you can't move on and you don't know how long it will be to get back there."
Having only moved to the town two years ago, Mr Sweeney was reticent to make another drastic move. Especially with their children - aged between 10 and 16 - having just started to put down roots.
But, for a moment, there did not seem to be another option.
"After the fire, there was one rental place in Batlow that eight people applied for," he said.
"There just was nothing around anymore.
"Our kids go to school here, we didn't want to just leave."
That is when a good Samaritan stepped in to help the family.
"When the bushfire recovery team came in, an army chaplain found out that we were stuck in holiday accommodation," Mr Sweeney said.
"He was amazing, he found us somewhere to live."
The owner of a converted barn on the outskirts of the town offered the family a temporary home, and two months ago they moved in.
"We're so very grateful that someone was able to give us somewhere to live," Mr Sweeney said.
"We're amazingly fortunate to be living out on this farm, we honestly couldn't be happier after everything to have this."