![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/eb8fb692dc9f884d276ef934264b7c80.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nA couple on SA’s Limestone Coast are urging home owners to better prepare themselves, after losing their home and two dogs in a devastating fire.<\/p>\n
Patrick and Susan Doyle’s house at Pinks Beach, near Kingston South East, was destroyed by fire earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The cause of the fire is not yet known.<\/p>\n
Mr Doyle said he was shocked by the ferocity of the fire.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The couple’s dogs, Mercy and Oscar, died as a result of the fire. (Supplied: Patrick Doyle)<\/p>\n
“I had to kick down the sliding door because it was locked and Susan was inside with smoke,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s like there’s an angry tiger, like 10 of them, roaring.”<\/p>\n
Mr Doyle said his wife was discharged from the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s burns unit earlier this week, after she had been transferred from Kingston’s hospital.<\/p>\n
“Like a sunburn, it bothers you for days, but this is like 10 times the worst sunburn you’ve ever had,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1ac454fe61b309df444a50afac5ca3e.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Susan and Patrick Doyle live near Kingston South East. (Supplied: Patrick Doyle)<\/p>\n
However, the couple lost their two dogs, 13-year-old Oscar and two-year-old Mercy, in the fire.<\/p>\n
“I’m told they did not suffer, that they went peacefully,” Mr Doyle said.<\/p>\n
Split-second decisions vital<\/p>\n
In his haste, Mr Doyle said he made decisions about how to deal with the fire he now regrets.<\/p>\n
“I did the mistake of spending like 10 seconds with the garden hose trying to put it out outside on the front verandah,” he said.<\/p>\n
“You’re supposed to do A-B-C \u2026 well I did C-A-B.<\/p>\n
“Maybe had I done it in order, I could’ve saved the dogs, and I’ll have to live with that.”<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/27578401c7296ade4757c361d13caabb.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The fire also damaged a coffee van the couple runs. (Supplied: Patrick Doyle)<\/p>\n
Metropolitan Fire Service Commander Simon Kirkmoe said measures like avoiding electricity overloads, keeping heaters away from flammable items, and disposing of batteries correctly can help prevent fires.<\/p>\n
But, he said, if a fire did start, a home escape plan could be key.<\/p>\n
“Immediately leave the building, crawl down low under [the] smoke, close doors behind you and nominate a place to go to once you’re out \u2026 and call Triple Zero (000),” he said.<\/p>\n
“Importantly, once you’re out, stay out.”<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/288ce5afc133296c327ec170ae925ca3.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The fire was so hot it melted the van’s tail lights. (Supplied: Patrick Doyle)<\/p>\n
He said that it was important that people do not put themselves in harm’s way trying to contain or extinguish a fire.<\/p>\n
“Call Triple Zero and get the fire services coming as early as you can, even if you think the fire’s out or [it is] only a small one,” he said.<\/p>\n
“That way they can get there and have the adequate resources if need be.”<\/p>\n
Mr Doyle’s advice for others who may find themselves in a similar situation was simple.<\/p>\n
“If you smell smoke or see fire, get out,” he said.More news from regional SAA supportive community<\/p>\n
While Mr Doyle had some belongings in their caravan, which was damaged but not destroyed, most of Mrs Doyle’s belongings were lost in the house.<\/p>\n
“[The house] was on stumps, the roof is on the ground,” Mr Doyle said.<\/p>\n
“I got a cast iron pan out of it. That’s it.”<\/p>\n
Since the fire, the couple has had an outpouring of support from the local community, including fundraising and places to stay.<\/p>\n
“That’s where a small town really rocks,” Mr Doyle said.<\/p>\n
“We’re going to try and return as much as we can to the community.”<\/p>\n
South Australia Police says the incident remains under investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple on SA’s Limestone Coast are urging home owners to better prepare themselves, after losing their home…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":675396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,152457,7770,325607,40360,325606,137297,473,44,325602,325601,1158,325603,325605,325604],"class_list":["post-675395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-country-fire-service","tag-fire","tag-fire-pinks-beach","tag-house-fire","tag-house-fire-kingston-sa","tag-kingston","tag-limestone-coast","tag-news","tag-patrick-doyle","tag-pinks-beach","tag-police","tag-susan-doyle","tag-what-should-you-do-in-a-fire","tag-what-should-you-do-in-a-house-fire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}