A Mornington woman is being hailed a heroine after running
into a burning Dunedin City Council flat to pull a
54-year-old man to safety.
The Fire Service was alerted to the blaze on Glen Rd about
6pm yesterday, and at the same time, the woman, who lives
across the street, also noticed flames coming out of the
building.
She said her first thought was, ''I have to get him out'',
and gave no thought to the fact she was risking her life.
Tears streamed as she recounted the traumatic incident.
''By the time I got to his door, flames were pouring out and
by the time I got him out, the glass windows were smashing.
''It just went up so quickly.
''He tried to go back in to get his cat, but we stopped him.
''By that time, flames were coming out all over the place.''
After extricating the man, she began evacuating other
residents in the block of four flats as smoke and flames
spread to the neighbouring flats.
Other Glen Rd residents at the scene described her actions as
nothing short of courageous and heroic.
Lookout Point Fire Brigade Station Officer Ray Adams said the
woman had done a great thing, and gave credit to her actions.
''There's an act of bravery going into a burning building
like that. But we don't recommend it. It's against all of our
protocols.
''Had she been overcome by smoke, she could have been a
victim, too.
''Having said that, she's done a wonderful job.''
But the woman, who declined to be named, played down her
role.
''I'm not a hero. I did it because it's who we are. They're
our neighbours. We look after them. We're protective of these
guys because they don't have families or any money.''
The flat was gutted, and the Fire Service remained at the
scene until late last night to dampen down hot spots. Mr
Adams said the cause of the fire was not yet known and fire
safety would investigate today.
Another resident said the flats were one-bedroom bedsits for
low-income earners, owned by the Dunedin City Council.
He believed the man living in the flat did not have
insurance.
''This poor person's got no money, and now he's got
nothing.''
The man's cat escaped the fire unharmed, but the man himself
received minor to moderate injuries, including smoke
inhalation.
- john.lewis@odt.co.nz
Hype.O.Thermia qualifies
Well written Hype.O.Thermia, I fully agree. I think you now qualify for a "Hi-Vis" vest with oak leaves.
Chance vs certainty
Our risk-averse culture frightens me. We are banned from so many activities that might be dangerous, or effectively-banned because compliance is so onerous, that the likelihood of suffering the physical and mental effects of killing time by only acting in a virtual world are now growing by the year, and the kilogram. Now, while praising a woman who clearly makes a habit of getting off her backside, the heroine who ran "into a burning Dunedin City Council flat to pull a 54-year-old man to safety", the Fire Brigade's Station Officer has to point out, "'Had she been overcome by smoke, she could have been a victim, too."
Yes - but that's putting a "maybe" against a "dead" [pun intentional] cert". Risk is life, life is risk. Without it, without those whose risk is not stupid self-indulgence but springs in an instant from the true greatness of spirit in good old-fashioned practical people, what's the point, what's the alternative? Bubble-wrap ourselves, wear hard-hats even in bed in case the chimney falls down, never climb up on anything higher than a brick, and work all the hours available to pay for insurance against all possible eventualities? Well, maybe.
That way we'd be too busy looking after ourselves to notice the smoke coming out of our neighbour's house. So we'd be at no risk of maybe harming ourselves, and if our neighbours died before emergency services had time to arrive, well, that's "life" in our safe, safe world.