Firefighter defies the odds after ‘miraculously’ surviving accident

A young Oamaru firefighter who cheated death after an accident last year will be the first New Zealander to compete in an international firefighting competition in Italy. Brad McIntosh, 25, “miraculously” survived a tree fall last year that crushed his skull and shattered his face. The Oamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade member and qualified firefighter was left broken and bleeding on the family property on Buckley’s Hill, where he had been helping to fell trees, while his parents and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) colleagues fought desperately to save him. Mr McIntosh was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital suffering a brain bleed and underwent intensive surgery to screw in titanium plates to put his face back together. He admitted he was lucky to be alive. “The tree hit me on the head and slammed me into the ground … I cracked my skull, had 15 stitches, the side of my eyes were cracked, part of my skull was cracked through, underneath the side of my cheek, under my nose and back up to the other cheek.” He is now defying the odds and will be the first New Zealander to compete in the Garda Lift on Fire firefighting competition in Riva del Garda in September, in northern Italy, alongside 250 other international firefighters. Mr McIntosh has been a part of the Oamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade since he was 18 and has competed in the Sky Tower Challenge five times, and in Toughest Firefighter challenges locally and regionally. He was happy to be heading overseas to compete. “I’m lucky really … I think I enjoy pushing my body to its limits to see where you can get to, because until you push yourself past it, you don’t know where the limit actually is. “A month after the accident, the doctors told me I was not going to be able to do Sky Tower, and I was racing jet skis at the time so I wasn’t allowed to finish the season. It hurt a bit because they said I can’t do this and I can’t do that.” Recalling the incident, he said his father, Quentin McIntosh, also a former volunteer firefighter, did first aid while his mother called emergency services and members of his brigade and other services arrived “in minutes” to help. His time at Oamaru Hospital was “blurry” but after he was stabilised he was flown to Christchurch where he underwent an eight-hour facial surgery, Mr McIntosh said. “They had to put my face back as the bones were crushed in by six millimetres, they had to put it back out and have it held in by titanium plates.” His recovery went so well he was able to compete in the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge in Auckland 12 weeks after the incident, along with seven of his brigade members. Fenz Waitaki group manager assistant district commander Mike Harrison said Fenz was “extremely proud” of Mr Mcintosh. “My understanding is the Garda Lift on Fire event is a very steep one, it’s very, very tough. “Full credit to him for his resilience after the serious accident he went through, and getting back up and going hard, it’s awesome.” Mr Harrison said Mr McIntosh had always done well in the Sky Tower and Toughest Firefighter challenges. “He puts himself through hell in those competitions — they are extremely difficult events, but he seems to thrive in that environment … how far he’s come in the relatively short period of time from the injuries that he sustained in that accident is just absolutely remarkable.” Mr McIntosh was “an integral part” of the Oamaru brigade, turning up to many call-outs along with other members, including working “around the clock” during recent floods. “The fact that he’s packing his bags to go over and compete over in Europe is just amazing,” Mr Harrison said. Mr McIntosh said he recently completed his senior firefighting level and would receive his rank of senior firefighter next month. This will be his first trip to Europe and afterwards he travels to North America, to Montreal and New York, where he plans to go to the 9/11 memorial site.

Firefighter defies the odds after ‘miraculously’ surviving accident

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