"I've always thought it is just a house, it's not a person, but I guess your home actually does mean more than that because it is your sanctuary and refuge.
"It is your place and when that looks like it is about to go it actually does mean a lot more at that point of time than you expect."
Ms McEwan is forever grateful to the emergency service providers.
"They all worked day and night for ages to put it out and make sure it was all sorted.
"You hear the sirens go off at the station but you don't really consciously think about how much time and effort, especially the volunteer firefighters, put in and then all of a sudden they save your house from being burnt to the ground."
Despite the terrible events that took place last February, Ms McEwan doesn't see her and her family moving away from the home they have owned for the past nine years.
"There is a potential for something to go wrong everywhere and we are probably just a little bit more aware of it after what did happen."
Now, they are conscious about mowing the lawns and keeping their swimming pool filled so that the fire crews can use it like they did at the time.
It was the third fire that left a mark on the surroundings of that area; a smaller fire had taken place on the field across the road on Tukituki where the whole orchard caught fire and similarly a smaller fire had occurred up the driveway.
"It was such a big drought last year and we were aware that potentially there could be a fire but the scale of this was epic in comparison to the other ones."
At the time of the fire, her three boys, Henry, 10, Hamish, 13, and Tom, 15, were at school - something which she doesn't want to think could have happened if that hadn't been the case.