A Yarloop resident living in a swag among the burnt-out remains of his home has experienced a small blessing amidst the grief and trauma.

The ex-serviceman, who wants to be known only as Les, has been reunited with an unlikely survivor — his pet kangaroo Sammy.

Sammy fled as the firestorm approached the town late last Thursday.

"She somehow escaped and I couldn't round her up because she was a bit frantic," Les told the ABC.

Three days later, the animal was spotted on the town's oval, suffering from minor burns.

"She didn't want to come near us because she was very, very stressed," he said.

"I had to wrestle her to the ground, bring her back and treat her and now she's quite happy.

"She didn't talk to me for two days but she's come good."

Fire 'like Dante's Inferno'

Les, who served with the Special Air Service regiment, retired to Yarloop with his wife 13 years ago.

The couple fled last Thursday before the fire gutted 90 per cent of the town, including their heritage-listed home, the town's former post office.

"It was a bit like a scene from Dante's Inferno if you know what I mean," he said.

"The house is totally levelled.

"The only thing left standing is a flag pole and the clothesline."

Les's home, the town's former post office, was razed in the fire. ( Supplied )

He is one of about 50 residents who have been living in what is left of the town but have been urged by authorities to leave due to safety concerns about asbestos and fallen power poles.

"We're a fairly resilient lot," he said.

"We don't necessarily need to be told what to do all the time.

"I need to keep an eye on what little I've got left and also when they clear it out I need to tell them what I want saved."

The two men who died in the disaster were both friends with Les — 73-year-old Malcolm Taylor was his next-door neighbour.

Town will rebuild: resident

A former firefighter himself, Les said he phoned triple-0 to call for help. His first call was five hours before the fire arrived.

"I made another one [phone call] about three hours before it hit saying 'you've still got time to get some pumps here and we can win this'," he said.

"The volunteer firemen, no matter how hard they battled and how hard they tried, they haven't got the equipment, they haven't got the training."

While some residents do not want to return, Les said Yarloop should be rebuilt at its current site.

"Why go somewhere else and build new roads, we've got it all here," he said.

"It just needs repairing and we're away again.

"The people here have been here for a long time. They deserve all the support they can get to rebuild this town.

"We're coming back I promise you. We'll be back."