Last confest saw temperatures hover around the high forties… many of us found respite in the water, in the shade, but for Isaac and his son the heat posed a threat to more than just their comfort.
On the last day of 2010, they returned to their camp site to find that a fire had taken over their campsite.

Can you describe what happened at your campsite?

It was New Years eve 2010. It was the hottest day of Confest, temperatures were in the mid 40s. I had moved my camp the day before from down near old Gypsy village, as my camp had been flooded out! I had this big 4x4 metre tent, so I had very few places to put it, and as the water was literally at my feet when I moved, I was in quite a hurry! It ended up on the plain in the middle of the Confest grounds, under a tree which would protect it from the afternoon sun. It wasn't ideal, but it was somewhere... There was all this dried prickly bramble there and I didn't have a rake when I set up the camp. It all ended up in a pile adjacent to the tent, pushed there with my boot, which I was going to deal with "later."

The exact cause of the fire is officially unknown, but I am told by those who would know that the source is that pile of dried bramble. Someone must have walked by it and flicked a cigarette or something, and winds of 40km/h and high temperatures were the perfect conditions to set fire to the tent. My car was parked next to the corner of the tent where I had my futon mattress. The fire in the mattress was perfectly positioned to set fire to my car, and that's where the fire was contained, limited to my car and tent! Even the big old tree was saved!

I was in the market when it went up. Some of you would remember me with a water-mist-sprayer spraying random Confesters to cool them down. I saw the smoke from the burning car, was told it was the workers kitchen; left my toddler with someone and rode my bike in to see if I could help. I was once a CFA member, I figured I might be able to provide some assistance.

When I arrived my car was already well and truly alight. I had this stereotypical hands in my hair, down on my knees aghast mouth wide open moment. It was pretty obvious who owned the car!

Are you safe and well? Has this put you through particular hardship?

The initial hardship was a bit difficult. A lot of people were preoccupied with vilifying me over the fire, and a lot, I think, didn't stop to wonder if I needed immediate help. We were Confest refugees for two or three days before someone at DTE thought to arrange an emergency tent for us! Also, anything of value from the remains of my campsite were looted by Confesters, which was extremely disheartening and surprising. The rumor mill went into full swing, and people were claiming I was cooking in my car/camp, or running my car, or lit the fire deliberately or was involved in some sort of scam. This made me fearful for my personal safety at the festival. I felt especially vulnerable to these rumors and had to work hard to counter them.

I had no insurance. The car hadn't been started for more than 24 hours. I had a camp stove, but it wasn't being used... It was just part of my kit. I cooked in the right places. I am not a firebug. Go get a hobby.

That being said, some people helped us out so very very much. We slept one night in a gazebo thing, another in a wayward tent that had been abandoned for the night. We were fed by Gypsy kitchen and GEKO. Thanks to both of those kitchens for providing us with all the food and dignity we would ever need. Bliss and Holy Cow also deserve a very special mention for their amazing help.

The loss of my car was a bit of a blow to me. I am a single parent, and I have been very short of money for a few years now. I bought my car by working and saving for about 6 months while looking after my son when he was two. I had put a lot of time and energy into getting this car and it was disheartening and distressing, initially, to see it all go up in smoke.

All of the above aside, it was actually ultimately a rewarding experience. I think I opened myself up very early to the positives that could be taken out of the experience. I know a lot of people were really touched by this, and I would like to say right now that it was probably more of a testament to the amazing loving and accepting energy that is around at Confest than it is to my good nature!

I think a lot of people like to draw positives out of situations, but to actually do it is quite another thing. I felt that I was part of an amazing change in attitude that took place on New Years Day, where people started to care less about mosquitoes and heat and stinky apples or whatever, and more about love and fun and happiness... In some ways I fed off this change in the wind, in other ways I was a part of it. It was an amazing thing to be involved in.

What would you like to say to the Confesters that contributed to the fund for you and your son?

Thankyou!

I resisted some sort of donation drive for several days. I didn't feel comfortable with accepting charity, especially at a time when a lot of people were perceiving me to be some sort of arsonist or scammer. In some ways I had trouble with graciousness and in other ways money became unimportant to me as I became more comfortable with the events of the festival. I ended up leaving with a car, which has been in various states of disrepair this past few months, and about $700 in cash, which went a long way towards replacing a lot of the clothes and items that got destroyed, and repairing my 'new' car. I have been careful with your money. A lot of it went to op shops and markets and to parts which I learned to install and repair myself.

For confesters that did not get a chance to contribute, is there an email address they can contact you with to do so?

You can email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you want to contribute, you can through http://retrofit.me which is a community initiative that I have started to keep electronics out of landfill and recycling programs. You can donate money and old phones there, I will be extremely grateful. Tell your friends, get the word out!

What would you like happen with the shell of your car? What kind of legacy would you want to leave for other Confesters curious about your tale?

I would like to see Confesters use the shell of my car in a positive way. I am a little bit wary of some sort of fire safety message being placed on it due to all the rumors that were started about me, but at the time I see this as bigger than me anyway.. Please, if you want to put a fire safety message on it, if you could, please make it something positive, and don't imply I was cooking or lighting fires etc!

Really, it's not my car anymore, and I really don't feel I have any control or direction over it. It belongs to Confest. I want to see Confest to work their magic with it. Not DTE in particular, I have gained a lot of respect for the things DTE do, and deal with, and legally it's now their car, but essentially in my mind it belongs to Confest.

Thank you for sharing your story, Isaac!