24 June 2013

Kambah fire hero and off duty copper. Gets a gong

| johnboy
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The Fire Chief has pinned a medal on the chest of one Clint Gordon:

ACT Fire & Rescue (ACTF&R) Chief Officer Paul Swain has today presented a Chief Officer’s Commendation award to an off duty police officer following the heroic actions at a Kambah house fire earlier this month.

“It is my pleasure to award off-duty Australian Federal Police (AFP) Officer Clint Gordon with a Chief Officer Commendation after rescuing an elderly occupant and extinguishing a fire,” ACTF&R Chief Officer Paul Swain said.

“Clint’s quick actions have no doubt saved the life of the resident and minimised fire damage to a home,” he said.

At approximately 1pm, off duty police officer Clint Gordon noticed smoke issuing from a house on Trussell Place, Kambah on 5 June, 2013. Clint investigated and identified that a fire was burning in the kitchen and that an elderly occupant was still inside. Clint entered the house and due to smoke logging, was required to crawl to search for the occupant. The 96-year-old male resident was found in a rear bedroom and Clint shielded the resident with a jacket, leading him to safety on the front porch in the care of neighbours.

“Clint’s actions then continued heroically by breaking the kitchen window with a garden rake and extinguishing the fire with a garden hose before the arrival of ACT Fire & Rescue,” Chief Officer Swain said.

“Officer Clint Gordon selflessly entered a heavily smoke logged burning house at great personal risk to himself to search for and rescue the elderly occupant,” he said.

“This exemplifies the professionalism and dedication of the AFP and its members and is highly deserving of this ACT Fire & Rescue Chief Officer Commendation.

ACT Policing Deputy Chief Police Officer Charmaine Quade congratulated Constable Clint Gordon on his bravery at the Commendation award ceremony.

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great story – but how did he know the occupant was in there?

What about the guy who *left* a guy in a burning car on Sulwood not long ago? What kind of a commendation do we give him?

dpm said :

b) He was an off-duty cop, so was more likely trained to deal with such an emergency – and normal people shouldn’t ever attempt what he did?

More the case that as a cop he would have been trained as to exactly how dangerous the situation was but he chose to go in anyway. Smoke is some pretty toxic stuff and can incapacitate you very quickly. Emergency responders are generally taught to stay out and leave it to the firies.

dpm said :

Awesome stuff! Heard him on tell this story on the radio tonight….
But, I can’t help but wonder why in these cases it is important to mention he was an ‘off-duty’ cop (similarly it was reported last year and ‘off-duty’ fireman/person rescued some drowning girls in Gunners, I recall?)..
Are they mentioning it because:
a) He was off-duty, so the elderly person is lucky he didn’t just drive past saying “it’s not my prob, i’m ‘off duty’ ” (and thus kinda-insinuating he’s lucky it was a thoughtful cop was going by, as he really wasn’t expected to help out?), or
b) He was an off-duty cop, so was more likely trained to deal with such an emergency – and normal people shouldn’t ever attempt what he did? In this case it’s making his awesome effort seem a little less important.
I mean if the person who next rescues someone is an accountant, will the media say “An off-duty accountant saved someone today….”? With the CO then saying: “This exemplifies the professionalism and dedication of the Chartered Accountants of Australia and its members and is highly deserving of this ACT Fire & Rescue Chief Officer Commendation”….? 🙂

Firstly, my hat is off to this very gallant gentleman. Definitely a hero in the true sense of the word, rather than the debased “sporting hero” sense.

Secondly, I think the point being made by the “off-duty” comment is that while such heroism might be expected of a cop or fireman in the course of their duties because that is actually their duty, an off-duty cop is just another bloke in the street, and nobody would think the less of him if he didn’t risk his life to save a complete stranger.

I think if he’d done this in the course of duty it still would have been incredibly heroic. Going into the smoke and flames when he could’ve stood by without anybody being any the wiser makes it pretty damn special.

Good on him.

What a hero. That word is overused, but this is what it means.

Awesome stuff! Heard him on tell this story on the radio tonight….
But, I can’t help but wonder why in these cases it is important to mention he was an ‘off-duty’ cop (similarly it was reported last year and ‘off-duty’ fireman/person rescued some drowning girls in Gunners, I recall?)..
Are they mentioning it because:
a) He was off-duty, so the elderly person is lucky he didn’t just drive past saying “it’s not my prob, i’m ‘off duty’ ” (and thus kinda-insinuating he’s lucky it was a thoughtful cop was going by, as he really wasn’t expected to help out?), or
b) He was an off-duty cop, so was more likely trained to deal with such an emergency – and normal people shouldn’t ever attempt what he did? In this case it’s making his awesome effort seem a little less important.
I mean if the person who next rescues someone is an accountant, will the media say “An off-duty accountant saved someone today….”? With the CO then saying: “This exemplifies the professionalism and dedication of the Chartered Accountants of Australia and its members and is highly deserving of this ACT Fire & Rescue Chief Officer Commendation”….? 🙂

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