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AS MIDNIGHT approached in the quiet village of Rincon on the North Coast on July 14, frightened residents battled a house fire with buckets of water, hoping to save the life of one of their own.

With no electricity in the home or nearby, the residents used flashlights and their cellphones to light the way into the home of 55-year-old Ian Burnley.

The construction worker was trapped in his house when fire broke out at around 11.45 pm. His teenaged son managed to escape.