Bravery award for RFS volunteer

Summary

HE is a humble hero but a hero nonetheless, with Stockinbingal's James Burge receiving a Commissioner's Commendation for Bravery from the Rural Fire Service on Sunday following his actions attempting to rescue Berthong Street's Ray Young who was trapped in a house fire.

It was Saturday, December 8 – harvest time in the district and James had just tipped a load of grain at the Graincorp depot in Cootamundra.

 

From the weighbridge he saw smoke coming from what he believed was a backyard so when he was driving by in the truck to go home and pick up another load he stopped to look. 

It was then he realised it was actually the house on fire. 

"Upon arriving there was no access as the front door and the screen door were both locked," James said. 

He could hear a man calling out so raced around the side of the house and kicked a window in to gain access.

With smoke billowing out of the window, James stepped inside and as he did so severely injured his calf on a piece of glass which was sitting upright on the floor. 

He severed his Achilles tendon as well as a main artery and a number of other tendons in his leg. 

Ignoring the pain, and unable to see the injury so still unaware of the seriousness of it, James made his way further into the house searching for the man he could still hear. 

When the moment came that he could no longer hear Ray calling, presumably as he had passed out from the smoke, James had a gut-wrenching decision to make – go further into the burning house he did not know the layout of to find the man or get out and save himself. 

"It all happened very quickly but in that moment I became quite focussed, so many things were going through my mind in split seconds," James said. 

"Where is this guy?", "I can't hear him anymore", "I don't know the house", "I think I've badly hurt myself" were all running through the mind of James when he decided that if he did not turn back he would likely perish in the house which was quickly becoming engulfed in flames. 

By the time he got out of the house other neighbours had arrived and were calling to Ray trying to render assistance and gain access from the front of the home. 

James' girlfriend Sally Frost, a local vet, had dropped him off lunch at the Graincorp depot and when she saw his truck stopped she followed him to the burning Berthong Street residence. 

It was fortunate she did as when he came back into the front yard, Sally put her training into action using James' belt as a tourniquet on his upper leg to stem the bleeding.

Another resident, who had stepped out of the pool, handed her towel to Sally to further assist James until paramedics arrived. 

It has been a long process of recovery for James who underwent surgery on his leg the day after the fire and still today is continuing with his rehabilitation. 

Even with the seriousness of the situation James said he did not think twice about running into the burning building. 

"Being a member of the RFS when you see a fire you render assistance, it is just a basic instinct to help," James said. 

Having been a member of the Stockinbingal Rural Fire Service for many years and now the senior deputy captain, James said he was used to fighting grass fires but nothing could have prepared him for the intense heat and the enclosed space of a house fire. 

"Just the speed with which it engulfed the house took me by surprise," James said. 

Not one to shy away from his RFS duties he was right back in the line of fire just a matter of weeks later driving the Stockinbingal brigade truck while he was still on crutches and his fellow brigade members fought the fire from the back of the truck. 

While the thought of any sort of thanks or commendation for his actions obviously never crossed his mind at the time he entered the burning house, James said Sunday's ceremony at RFS headquarters in Sydney was "very humbling".

"It really hit home what had happened when I was listening to the commissioner speak while I was down there on Sunday," James said. 

Bravery Awards such as that given to James are few and far between with this the first given to a member in around four or five years. 

"The RFS is like a family and that was really evident on Sunday," James said. 

Sally, his mum Ros Burge and grandmother Viv Everingham were all in attendance to help James mark the special occasion. 

He was given a framed certificate with an account of his actions that day, an RFS Medal and a special pin he will wear with pride on his RFS uniform from now on. 

The ceremony was held on St Florian's day (the Patron Saint of Firefighters) and NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons took the opportunity to thank all serving NSW RFS members who continue to follow in the tradition of St Florian. 

"Many of the members being recognised today will tell you that it's all in a day's work but nonetheless, they're deserving of the community's recognition and gratitude," Commissioner Fitzsimmons said. N-AU;ms����mV'