Brave Steve wins award:
A TOWNSVILLE man’s act of courage – rescuing a disabled man from a burning building in 2015 – has been recognised with a Bronze Medal at the Royal Humane Society of Australasia’s annual bravery awards.
Steven Morris was among 40 Queenslanders recognised for feats of bravery at a special event in Brisbane on Friday.
On the morning of August 24, 2015, Mr Morris ran into a burning multistorey home at The Point, on Castle Hill, three times to rescue the man.
Mr Morris, who was joined in Brisbane by wife Sharon and sons Cohan, 11, and Riley, 9, to accept the award, said he did not take praise well but felt honoured to receive the medal.
“I know what I’ve done and that’s the main thing,” he said. “I was happy to get ( the medal) posted, but I wanted my boys to see me receive it.”
The award was presented by Brisbane Mayor Graham Quirk. Just a few civilians were among those honoured, with recipients including police officers and firemen who had demonstrated acts of bravery while on duty.
On the morning of the fire ini 2015, Mr Morris saw smoke billowingb from a Castle Hill home and he immediately ran towards it.
He pushed a garden hose t through a window and attempted to extinguish the fire before entering the building and searching for occupants.
The tradesman quickly became breathless due to the thick smoke and was forced to leave the property before going in and retreating again.
As he was about to enter for a third time, the home’s owner appeared in the driveway and told him that her physically disabled son was inside and would be unable to escape by himself. Mr Morris and the woman then made their way to the upper level of the property and found the young man.
Mr Morris grabbed the young man and carried him downstairs and outside to safety as the woman followed.
Mr Morris said he would like to think anyone else would have done the same thing and that his act was just “the Aussie way”.
He was also among the Australian Bravery Award winners in March this year, presented with a Bravery Medal by Governor- General Sir Peter Cosgrove.