baddeley family home bnurns down

Aussie golfer Aaron Baddeley is in shock after his family’s home in Melbourne burned down last night.

No-one was seriously hurt in the blaze, though his dad Ron did suffer second degree burns on his left foot.

did the math as soon as the phone rang. It was about 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning back home in Melbourne, Australia, so he knew that something was wrong.

Baddeley’s sister Emma called in the middle of the night to tell him that their parents’ home in Wonga Park, a Melbourne suburb, had just been destroyed.

“She told me the stories and I was like, no way,” Baddeley recalled. “I just felt so helpless but there was nothing I could do.”

According to Baddeley, the fire appears to have started in some faulty wiring and quickly spread up the walls of the brick house and into the ceiling. As the heat intensified, the outdoor barbeque exploded, which woke his parents and sister up.

“From there, they literally had two minutes and then the ceiling started falling in,” Baddeley said. “It was such a blessing. The Lord was really looking out for them. If they hadn’t heard (the barbeque explode), no telling what might have happened.”

The one bright spot amid the devastation? Baddeley’s parents’ wedding pictures and baby pictures of him and his sisters — were saved. “That was awesome,” said the 29-year-old, who has two daughters of his own.

The house also contained memorabilia dating back to his junior and amateur days, including Baddeley’s two wins at the Holden Australian Open in 1999 and 2000. Firefighters were able to save some of the medals, pictures and golf clubs — although at the same time, photographs in local newspapers showed charred trophies nestled among pieces of burned wood.

Baddeley, who won his third PGA TOUR event two weeks ago at the Northern Trust Open, said he doesn’t know what was saved and what wasn’t. And quite frankly, that’s not important.

“To me, all that matters is that everyone is safe,” Baddeley said. “A trophy is a trophy. If anything got destroyed, so be it. I am just thankful that everyone is okay.”

According to newspaper accounts, Ron Baddeley tried to battle the blaze with a garden hose as firefighters rushed to the scene. The house was about 85-90 percent engulfed when emergency crews arrived.

“They were in bed, sleeping, and Dad got up to check,” Baddeley said. “He was in his pajamas and slippers, and he stepped on something that burned his foot.”

Flames were shooting about 3 meters into the air and it took about an hour to bring the fire under control. Firefighters used water from the swimming pool and water mains on other streets to help quell the blaze.

“I just got up … and looked inside and saw a nice red glow there and the house was pretty much on fire in the ceiling,” Ron Baddeley told the Melbourne Herald Sun. “… As soon as we got out, the ceiling started to fall in.”

Baddeley said some friends of his parents have a guest suite they will let them use while all the insurance details are being sorted out. The entire family has been touched by the outpouring of support.