HE'S been dubbed a hero of yesterday's Perth Hills bushfire, saving four of his neighbours' homes from fire using just an esky after flames melted his garden hose.

New Zealand truck driver Sam Inu, 39, refused to back down when thick smoke and flames descended on his Parkland Road home in the Perth Hills suburb of Stoneville.

One man has died and at least 44 homes have been destroyed in the fires.

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Using a 40-litre esky-like drinks bucket and refilling it from a neighbour's pool, he dashed back and forth repeatedly between the properties, dousing flames as they began licking homes.

When his own own appeared safe, Mr Inu turned his attention to the home of neighbours, including Rob Combe, whose home he also managed to save from the inferno.

This morning, Mr Inu told how he was forced to use the esky after flames melted his garden hose.

"I had to flank that fire. There was no-one else there do it. My garden hose melted so you've got to use what you've got laying around,'' he said.

"You can't let your home burn. You've got to do what you can. You've gotta defend your castle.''

But the Kiwi said he wasn't a hero.

"Nah, nah, no such thing. The firefighters and the volunteers, they're the real heroes. They're the ones who stand and fight,'' he said.

"I don't care what they (the authorities) say. You've got to strand and fight and defend your home."

Mr Inu said "nothing'' was going through his mind but saving his house.

"I just didn't want my house to burn, I wasn't going to let a fire take my house,'' he said.

Mr Inu has lived in Perth for a year and works as a truck driver for NZ demolition company Busy Bros.

When he spoke to PerthNow this morning, he'd had only one hour of sleep and was still helping firefighters douse "hot spots'" along his street.

"It's under control but there's still a few burning stumps and other hot spots we're trying to put out,'' he said.

"Down the street we lost a shed and I think two or three homes, but it could have been a lot worse. It could have been a hell of a lot worse.''

PerthNow photographer Jackson Flindell was in the thick of the firefight and witnessed Mr Inu's heroic actions yesterday.

"The first thing Sam said to Rob after Rob returned to his house was, 'Sorry for breaking your fence bro!'. He had to smash the fence down to get in and put the flames out,'' Flindell said.