Exclusive: As the old saying goes, bad things often happen in threes.

Mandy Dashwood has suffered a devastating trifecta of recent misfortunes: her home and almost everything she owns were reduced to rubble in the Harcourt bushfires, just one day after her beloved mum died.

And this all unfolded as she battles a breast cancer diagnosis.

Mandy Dashwood lost her home in the devastating Harcourt fire. (Supplied)

The 62-year-old, however, remains fiercely positive and unwavering in her resilience.

“I don’t have anything to wear to mum’s funeral because I don’t have a wardrobe anymore,” Dashwood told nine.com.au.

“I don’t even have a pair of socks.”

Dashwood evacuated her home just minutes before the blaze ripped through her community.

She said her “sanctuary” was among the first to burn to the ground.

“My gut instinct said get out, and I didn’t question it,” Dashwood recalled.

“I just got a small bag ready, and put the dogs in the car. I only just bought one night’s worth of clothes.

“My house was gone in less than 10 seconds.”

Hers was among 47 homes destroyed in Harcourt.

She evacuated her home just minutes before the blaze ripped through her community. (Supplied)

The mum and former policewoman said she “wouldn’t have survived” if she stayed to protect her home.

Dashwood luckily spent nearly $10,000 on home and contents insurance, but a large chunk of her payout will be lost to the bank as she still has a mortgage.

She also acknowledges that this cost is prohibitive to many homeowners in bushfire and flood zones.

“One insurance agency was going to charge me $21,000 for insurance, and I got another company down to $9500 a year,” she added.

“I’ve never been through this, and I didn’t know what hoops I’d have to jump through.”

It will likely be a long time before Dashwood sees the money.

Now, with only the clothes on her back, Dashwood faces the daunting task of starting from scratch.

“I want to go back there and I want to rebuild because my ultimate plan, because I’m 62 and I was happy to retire there,” she said.

Dashwood’s niece Remi is in awe of her aunt’s strength.

She has started a GoFundMe crowdfunding page to help Dashwood pick up the pieces and reassemble her life.

The mum and former policewoman said she “wouldn’t have survived” if she stayed to protect her home. (Supplied)

It has already amassed close to $30,000.

“How do you replace a whole life?” Remi said.

“That’s just incomprehensible. The insurance covers a part of that, but it doesn’t really cover everything.”

Dashwood is now staying with a friend in Berwick in Melbourne’s south-east, but when she returns home, she plans to pay the generosity forward.

“I am absolutely speechless. I am humbled to the core,” she said.

“And I will, once this blows over, spend my time paying that forward in incredible ways.”