As he sifts through the debris looking for his glasses and wife's engagement ring, Graham Doyle only finds rubble and dust.
He is back at the place he called home for 32 years, a day after a fire swept through the Livingstone property on Darwin's outskirts on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Doyle and his wife, Margaret, were at home watching the football and getting ready to prepare dinner when Margaret noticed the smell of smoke.
The last time a fire alert was issued the blaze was moving away from their home. But looking out the back door this time, Mr Doyle saw the flames racing towards them.
The couple had just minutes to act.
"It was like the surf coming in on the East Coast. It just flew down … travelled 350 metres in about a minute," Mr Doyle said.
"I've never seen anything move that fast. I don't know how to describe it other than absolutely terrifying."
Mr Doyle said they had no time to save any precious belongings, but managed to race their three beloved dogs outside to safety.
"I came back in abundantly trying to put the fire out," he said.
"The garden hose burnt through, so that was useless.
"I grabbed a couple of buckets and went to the kitchen sink.
"There was a fireball that hit me, and that was basically the last I could do in the house."
Bushfires NT Incident Controller Nathaniel Staniford confirmed only one house was severely impacted by Sunday's fire, and said the high fuel load in the area contributed to the intensity and spread of the blaze.
"There were several properties where the fire did break containment lines," he said.
"Those properties did contain gamba [grass] on them and that did help the fire to spread rapidly."
He said additional crews were called in to help once it was clear the fire could impact multiple properties, because Bushfires NT crews don't have the training or equipment to enter burning buildings.
While fire trucks turned up to help, Mr Doyle said they ran out of water.
Mr Doyle was taken to hospital with minor burns and smoke inhalation.
While he has lost nearly everything, he said he was lucky to be alive.
He returned on Tuesday to the destruction of his home wearing donated clothes and shoes to search for their irreplaceable items.
"My wife's engagement ring and wedding ring, they are somewhere down in amongst the rubble. She didn't get to get them out and I was trying to put the fire out in her room so I could get those for her," he said.
"My parents' medals … My parents' army discharge certificates, all of my university and TAFE qualifications are gone."
While a crowdfunding campaign set up by their grand-daughter has so far raised more than $8,000, the couple now face the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and finding somewhere permanent to live.
Graham also said due to historical storm water drainage issues in the area, the couple was unable to insure their home.
"The only thing we can think of at the moment is to try and get a cheap caravan."
