Russell Crowe couldn’t attend the Golden Globes on Sunday because it was claimed he was too busy at home “protecting his family from the devastating bush fires.” But this may have been dramatic licence because there are currently no fires near Crowe’s home.

The New Zealand-born actor lives at a 400-hectare property in Nana Glen, near the coastal town of Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, Australia. Reportedly he has recently renovated it to entertain his friend Terri Irwin – formerly married to the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin who died in 2006 after a fatal encounter with a stingray.

In November last year, Crowe’s property was damaged by bushfires which broke out in the area.

One resident claimed firemen had ignored other residents’ properties and headed straight for Crowe’s.

According to a report in the Mail:

Emotional Nana Glen residents, some whose homes were damaged, claimed firefighters prioritised Crowe’s property. ‘I’m angry because our friends house is there burning and all the trucks go to Russell Crowe’s,’ resident Debbie Waldon told Seven News through tears. ‘What about normal, everyday people?’

But these claims were contradicted by the local fire service.

The NSW Rural Fire Service said Ms Waldon’s claims were nonsense. ‘Firefighters are not aware of whose homes they are being sent to – aerial crews wouldn’t be aware of whose property they are going to either,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. ‘Crews are dispatched on priority of jobs and the properties that need it the most, we are not aware of who owns the properties.’

That was in November, though. There have been no recent fires near Nana Glen – as can be seen from ‘Fires Near Me’, an information site provided by the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Only one fire has been reported in the area, luckily some distance from Crowe’s home and is reported as “under control.”