THREE western district heroes will today be honoured at a special ceremony at Government House for bravery in the face of adversity.
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Sebastopol’s Ian McBain, Glenlyon’s Jamie Grant and Creswick Daniel O’Connor will all receive bronze medallions at The Royal Humane Society of Australasia’s at the annual bravery awards presentation.
Mr McBain is being rewarded for going into a burning Sebastopol unit on March 7 last year.
At 11.40pm Mr McBain ran outside to a nearby burning unit which he knew was occupied by a disabled man.
Mr McBain saw that the front door was open and he entered the unit which was full of smoke. He heard moaning coming from the lounge room floor and located the man.
As the laundry windows exploded Mr McBain grabbed the man and dragged him out the front door to safety just before the roof of the unit collapsed.
Speaking to The Courier earlier in the year Mr McBain said he knew the man in the unit only had one leg and would be struggling to get out.
“I went in and it was full of smoke, I couldn't find him,” Mr McBain said.
“I yelled out and then heard a moan on the floor, got underneath his arms and lifted him up. As I was dragging him outside he said ‘my unit’s on fire’, and I said, ‘mate, don’t you worry about the unit, we’re getting out of here’.”
Mr Grant and Mr O’Connor went to the rescue of a man who had been involved in a crash at Newlyn on Ocotber 20 2016.
At 6.20pm a car collided with a tree which Mr Grant and Mr O’Connor witness.
The pair quickly stopped to help out
Mr Grant went to a nearby farmhouse to obtain a fire extinguisher whilst Mr O’Connor ran to the burning car in an attempt to free the driver.
The driver’s side window was down and Mr O’Connor tried to rouse the driver who was unresponsive and trapped as the front of the car had collapsed over his legs.
Mr Grant returned with the fire extinguisher but it made little impact on the burning car.
Both men were unable to open the doors as they were jammed due to the collision and once the fuel tank ignited they were forced to move away.
Emergency services arrived shortly afterwards but sadly the driver died in the accident.
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