The Duffy home in which Denis and Paulene Cairnduff had lived for 30 years was destroyed by the January 18 firestorm in 2003. By the December of that year, they were back in their rebuilt home in Tarago Place, among the first families to return to their neighbourhood.
The home is still the centre of the family, 50 years after the couple first moved into the neighbourhood.
Mrs Cairnduff said she couldn't quite believe it was 20 years since the devastating firestorm swept through suburbs on the western and southern fringes of Canberra.
"I look back and I am surprised we built our house so quickly. I don't know where we got the energy from, but we did," she said.
"And I'm still affected whenever there is a fire. I get very anxious as soon as I start smelling smoke. That's the thing that is probably the most.
"I met lots of new people that I probably would never have met and some of those have become, now, life-long friends.
"So, there's always good and bad about what comes out of these things."
The Cairnduffs were among the first residents to return to their rebuilt home, less than a year after the disaster.
"So we were back in by the 13th of December, I think the date was, when we moved in, which was pretty remarkable," she said.
"But we had wonderful builders who worked with us, not against us in any way and that made a big difference. So too, our family. We had huge family support. All of those things just help you recover from any trauma and that's what it was - a trauma in your life."
She also remembers the kindness of everyday Canberrans and the infrastructure that was swiftly set up to assist those who had lost everything, including the recovery centre which helped residents in every aspect, whether wrapping them in home-made quilts or advising on a rebuild.
"I think that we were very fortunate living here in Canberra, we were supported so much by the community," Mrs Cairnduff said.
"And I fear that hasn't happened with other disasters in recent years as much - other people haven't got the help that we got basically.
"The ordinary Canberra people's response was remarkable and I am sure that that was the thing that made it easier for us to move forward quickly and recover and be very, very grateful for the community we live in."
A horticulturalist, Mrs Cairnduff lent her expertise to the community, helping to form the Phoenix gardening group which gave practical support and advice to homeowners trying to rebuild their gardens after the fires.
She continued to give back, helping to advise the Rotary Club of Canberra Weston Creek as it grew plants to gift to the residents of Cobargo who dealt with their own bushfire disaster in 2019.
The Cairnduffs' appreciation for the help they received in the wake of the January 18 firestorm never left them.
"I think it made both of us want to give more to the community," she said.
"And we were at a stage of our lives where our family had grown up, so we had the time and we, fortunately, had the energy and good health to be able to do it. And so, both of us did go on doing work for the community. And I probably always will now."
Denis sadly passed away in 2017 aged 73. He died on January 18 of that year, 14 years after the fires, making the date even more poignant for Mrs Cairnduff.
"Again, it's another adjustment in life that you just have to make and I suppose the most important thing is to make the most of what you've got," she said.
She is glad they rebuilt in Duffy. If they had moved, Mrs Cairnduff says she would have felt "more unsettled".
"I feel very comfortable in the space and, yes, I am pleased that we moved back here."
Now a host of the gardening show on 2CC on Saturday and Sunday mornings, she always finds joy in her own garden.
In it, there are still the three trees that survived the firestorm - the weeping mulberry, the liquid amber and the claret ash.
"They were very precious," she said.
"Neighbours actually watered them for us before we came back so that they all survived. So, very pleased that we've still got them."
