HUMBLE HERO HONOURED
Toowoomba man plays down his actions after saving elderly couple from fireball
AN ELDERLY couple owes their lives to the bravery of Toowoomba man Jason Emeny.
The former army infantry man and his wife Melanie were driving along a remote road in far north Queensland on May 19 last year when they witnessed a crash.
The vehicle in front of them caught fire and Mr Emeny extinguished the fire before helping the couple from their vehicle.
However, Mr Emeny has played down his actions, claiming he did what anyone else would have done. ■
AN ELDERLY couple owes their lives to the bravery of Toowoomba man Jason Emeny, but like most people in his position, Mr Emeny doesn’t see himself as a hero.
The former army infantry man and his wife Melanie were driving along a remote road about 40km east of Georgetown in far north Queensland on May 19 last year.
The only other car and caravan on the road was in front of them.
“The road is very narrow and there’s a bit of bitumen but suddenly he found a massive pot hole and it all went out of whack,” Mr Emeny said of the vehicle in front.
“They went off-road into the bush at about 70kmh, snapping trees off as they went until it ended up on its side.
“I got out and raced to them but when I got there, suddenly wooshka!
“It was a petrol Prado and the engine caught fire.
“The heat of the flames prevented them from getting out of the passenger window.
“Firstly, I got the engine fire out, I only just had enough in our fire extinguisher but I got it out and that enabled them to get out of the passenger window.”
Mr Emeny only found out later that it was estimated that in such a car fire the occupants had about two to three minutes to get out.
The next vehicle arrived on the scene some 15 minutes later.
Fortunately, the couple escaped with only minor injuries.
Mr Emeny said the caravan had smashed into “a million pieces”.
“Gail (woman in car) was worried she’d lost her medication but we found it,” he said.
“The mayor of Georgetown came out and they cleaned up the area and one of the guys found her wedding and engagement rings.”
Mr Emeny was awarded the Commendation for Brave Conduct in the Australian Bravery Awards announced today.
However, Mr Emeny claimed he did what anyone else would have done.
“You only do what you expect anyone else to do,” he said.
“If that was us and someone else came along, you’d expect them to help us too.
“You can’t just drive on.”