It was just another forest fire in Victoria State on February 1st 2009 for firefighter David Tree. He would soon come to find out that this day would change his life. This fire in the state of Victoria would go in the books for highest temperatures. The inferno of this fire killed 173 people and destroying thousands of homes, leaving thousands of homeless. But this was not any accident; this fire had been started by criminals. High temperatures weren’t the only factor that added to the mixture, to go with it was high winds, a very dry landscape, catching fire to anything dry enough, and years of drought to the several forests. As the fires burned through Victoria, animals were trying to escape the forests fast enough, but were being trapped as the fire was swarming around them. There was one animal, a cute, sweet, innocent little koala bear. Her name was Sam and she would soon come to find out just like David, that her life would change forever. Sam slowly and painfully made her way past a fire patrol squad, which David fortunately was in. He noticed the adorable koala bear painfully trying to make her way out. So he immediately ran over to her and saw that her paws were burned badly. Being the kind, generous man David was, he pulled out a bottle of water out of his bag, and fed it to Sam. David and Sam were photographed by Mark Pardew, a firefighter for the Department of Sustainability and Environment next to one another, sharing the bottle of water with each other. This photo was a symbol of hope and inspiration for everyone around the world. It surfaced around the world immediately giving attention to the two. A tiny bundle of joy greeted and nourished with a drink of water, and saved as flames roared closely.  David said when he found her “Koalas are usually quite grumpy, but not his one took my hand. She was distressed and exhausted”
Afterwards David took Sam to The Morwell Vet Clinic where she could get proper care and attention. She was diagnosed with having second degree burns to her front paws, and third degree burns to her rear paws. Her fur had also been burned causing “full thickness burns” this destroys the thickness of the fur as well as the skin and tissue below. Sam’s face had also been burned causing blistering around her outer eyes. Sam’s treatment for her burns included pain relief, daily antibiotic, eye drops, and daily gauze changing for her feet. She had been well taken care of for the months later. Her bandages were removed in mid- March and, by early April her paws were nearly healed. She was then able to be placed in an outdoor enclosure. Her burns hadn’t completely gone away; she still received daily treatment for her eyes. Sam was described as “Beautiful” and “well behaved” and easily manageable to some of the other koalas who were in the clinic according to a vet that had seen Sam daily.
She was almost in the clear for being done with treatment. It had been a normal check up with a nurse. On May 7th Sam developed urinal problems and together with the lack of improvement with her eyes, something wasn’t right. Sam had been diagnosed with the disease Chlamydia; an organism that is widespread in koala populations and causes chronic diseases in the urogenital tract, and the respiratory tract. The disease can cause infertility, blindness and if not treated and monitored it will ultimately cause a very painful death. It had not been known whether Sam had the infection before the fire. The disease is usually brought on by stress.
When Sam was first rescued she was tested for Chlamydia, but the results came back negative. Sam’s weight gradually decreased over time at the Clinic. And on July 31st Sam went in for an extensive ultrasound. This abdominal investigation indicated that she needed to undergo surgery. Vet John Butler shocked Australia with the news that due to complications with the disease, the best course of action had been to put Sam down. Due to extensive changes in the condition of her bladder and uterus the decision was taken to put Sam down before surgery to prevent her suffering too much pain,' he said. Sam’s death touched everyone around the world especially those affected by the devastating fire. She was a sign of hope and terrible loss for those who lost their homes or died in the fire.
  This story has been far from happy for David Tree the man, who saved Sam from the bushfire, has been battling a lot ever since she passed away. He lost his job, his sons cars have been vandalized, and his family has struggled financially with David not having a stable job. He has been flashed around the world, drawing unneeded attention to him and his family. “In some ways, it’s been a curse. The whole thing ran out of control’ says David.
I think it’s a very tragic death. An innocent koala bear pulled from a forest fire then has to suffer for months in an animal clinic. Then passes away from a disease that the vets didn’t even know she had. The disease went away when she was brought to the shelter, but then came back due to stress. Chlamydia is a very awful disease that can be transmitted through animals very easily, especially those in forests.