A HUNTLY man has been awarded an Australian Bravery Medal for his part in the rescue of two men following a light plane crash at an airstrip north of Bendigo in 2012.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Rod Shearer, a caretaker at the Bagshot airstrip, rushed to the aid of the men after the light aircraft they were in clipped a power line and slammed into the ground, immediately bursting into flames.
Two pilots, Andrew Willsmore and Graham Drage, who had touched down prior to the accident were also awarded Bravery Medals for their part in the rescue.
Mr Shearer said he didn't hesitate to act when he saw the men were in trouble.
"After the initial surprise it was 'we gotta get these blokes out' and it just went from there," he said.
"I was only 12 large steps from where the accident happened and I ran over and tried the door."
It's just a thing that needed to be done, I think there's lots of people that exhibit bravery just through the way they lead their lives, lots of people should get a medal.
Mr Shearer said the rescue was made more difficult by the limited equipment available.
"The fellow in the back was yelling out 'get me out'," he said.
"I ran and got an extinguisher but when I got back to the (plane) the handle on the extinguisher was broken and I couldn't get it to discharge.
"The fire had taken hold by then and I ran back and got another extinguisher and inserted it through the window and discharged the entire extinguisher."
Despite Mr Shearer's best efforts the fire reignited, but the three men managed to drag two of the plane's occupants to safety.
"We kicked in the windshield but the flames were too intense and it didn't appear that the bloke in the front left seat was moving," Mr Shearer said.
"So we ran around to the other side and we carried the (second) bloke out in a few lifts, because he was quite heavy and hot."
The third occupant had died on impact.
Despite the recognition Mr Shearer said he didn't consider himself particularly brave.
"It's just a thing that needed to be done, I think there's lots of people that exhibit bravery just through the way they lead their lives, lots of people should get a medal," he said.
He said he felt humbled by the award and praised the actions of the other two men.
"It was exceptionally brave what they did, they just leapt into action to help out the blokes in the (plane), they didn't think about it they just got straight in," he said.
Mr Willsmore equally reserved his praise for Mr Shearer and Mr Drage, describing the rescue as a team effort.
"It was just a bloke that needed hand," he said.
"He spoke to me and said - which was an amazing thing - this bloke was fully on fire and he just said 'mate I'm a bit hot can you give me a hand'."
"Rod's quick thinking bought us valuable time which in the end was what we needed."
"I think anyone would have done exactly the same thing, it was just one of those situations when you don't really think about it until later."
The medals will be presented at a ceremony at Government House in Melbourne later in the year.