3 Min Read Published on: 3 hours ago In the early hours of April 5, 2021, Brendan Pratt, Australian Union Conference (AUC) ministerial secretary, his wife Amanda Bews, AUC resource development coordinator, and their three teenage sons lost their house in a fire. Emergency services were called to the family property at Wandin North, Victoria, on the outskirts of Melbourne, at 12:45 a.m., after a smoke alarm awakened the family. Brendan said he and his oldest son opened their bedroom doors at the same time to see their house filling with smoke, and flames coming up from the lower level. As they yelled, “Fire!” the family escaped to the front garden. Thinking at first that everyone was out of the house, Brendan realized his youngest son was not with them.