The fact that others remember and that he will be awarded for his bravery is both a shock and an honour, he says.

“I have no idea how the Australian Bravery Decorations Council were informed, but I do feel very honoured to be recognised.”

Mr McLeod, 62, a CFA volunteer, was returning from a quick “milk and paper” trip to the shops about 8am on 15 June, 2015, when he was stopped by people in the street and saw his neighbour’s two-storey mud brick Wirreanda Drive property on fire.

“The house was fully alight with huge amounts of dark acid smoke billowing out ... I ran round the back of the house where Lachie (our neighbour) had managed to get his wife, Ruth (who was unconscious) halfway through the window onto the roof of the first floor,” Mr McLeod said.

The A-frame mud brick house had a single-storey annexe at the back and the couple were on the roof. Fire officers later said the fire was made more intense and difficult because of the "very high fuel load inside the house” making it difficult to get access.

Mr McLeod could hear his neighbour, Lachie, trying to get Ruth over to a ladder attached to the side of the house.

He said he managed to convince him to bring her closer to the edge of the roof where the smoke wasn't as thick.

Mr McLeod’s son, Lachlan, went to get a ladder and Mr McLeod got his safety harness to use to bring the unconscious woman down.

“A Ballarat crew member arrived and climbed onto the roof to help and then we gradually hoisted her down.”

Once Ruth was down and getting medical care, Mr McLeod turned his attention to helping put the fire out, using his own water tanks to pump water. 

“I was really calm and I did everything in a logical order, so I am pleased about that because I had never encountered a situation like this before.”

“I am glad that the proper story is coming out,” Mr McLeod said.

“We had both professional and volunteers working seamlessly together on that day, and that’s important to know.”

“At the time this happened (in 2015) there was a lot of negative stuff going around with the pay dispute which created a lot of tension between volunteers and the professionals,” he said.

The rescued couple, both in their 60s, now live in Ballarat and have not returned to their previous home.

Mr McLeod will receive his award later in the year, and says he would do it all again.

“You have to help … you can’t be just a bystander. It’s my reason for being a CFA volunteer.”

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