Three Footscray men will receive commendations for “brave conduct” for risking their lives to rescue their elderly neighbour from a house fire two years ago.
On May 21, 2012, Christopher Linh Nguyen and brothers Matthew and Joshua Eason-Jones smashed their way inside the Commercial Road property and carried 105-year-old Emma to safety through flames and choking smoke.
As Joshua recalled last week, he was alerted to the fire by his barking dog, while Christopher started smelling smoke as he was watching television in his lounge
room.
“I could see flashing lights through the bathroom window, so I went out the back and the flames were spitting, almost touching our pergola, so I told my wife to call triple-0,” he said.
“I ran out the front and yelled, ‘John, John [Emma’s son[’ and he came out … I asked him, ‘Where’s your mum?’, and he said, ‘She’s in the kitchen’.”
With John outside with burns to his head and hands, the men approached the house .
After Christopher kicked in the glass front door, they rushed down the hallway.
“It was pretty smoky and we had to avoid the curtains, which were on fire,” Joshua said.
“When we found Emma she was ridiculously calm given the situation.”
The men discovered a stovetop in a kitchen at the rear of the house had caught fire.
“When we found Emma, she was actually still standing by the heater, not far from the back door, trying to keep warm,” Christopher said.
Despite being among the 78 Australians recognised for their bravery by Governor- General Sir Peter Cosgrove, the men don’t consider themselves heroes.
“It’s something you don’t think about, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit proud,” Joshua said.
