Horrific arson scene
Constable Ben Jones ran into a nightmare.
Outside a blazing farmhouse, a man whose clothes had been scorched off his entire body was screaming into the flames for his baby boy.
It was a scene that would end up claiming three lives on the foggy morning of March 17, 2017, and was recounted in fresh detail this week when Jones, a Taranaki lad, was officially recognised for his actions that day.
Katie Rose Bruce, 20, and her four-month-old baby Ash David Millar were killed in the fire deliberately set by Scott Millar, Ash’s father.
A coroner later ruled that Millar, 26, intended to cause the death of Bruce but not his son or himself when he poured petrol inside the house and lit the blaze.
It engulfed half the sharemilking home where Bruce’s sister Susan, 28, and partner Anthony lived.
Jones’ District Commander’s Certificate of Appreciation award was for his courageous efforts trying to save Millar.
It was not long after 3am when the calls came in reporting a fire about 40 kilometres east of Taupo¯ . Two people were trapped inside.
Susan had escaped to raise the alarm while Anthony dragged a severely burnt Millar from the hallway. Meanwhile, Jones, a frontline constable in Taupo¯ , and supervisor Sergeant Andrew Lynch were first to arrive.
‘‘You could see the orange glow from the road and that’s when we knew the house was on fire,’’ Jones said after receiving the award. ‘‘Once we navigated through the farm you could see half the house – the lounge and living area was just up in flames.’’
Lynch stopped the car at the end of the driveway while Jones ran towards the burning home.
Standing outside the door was Anthony on all fours, hosing down a screaming Millar. His clothes had disintegrated and his body was ‘‘100 per cent covered in burns’’.
Debris was flying from the blaze and the heat was intense.
Noticing Anthony was struggling to breathe from smoke inhalation, Jones grabbed the garden hose and took over dousing Millar. As Jones, 30, was hosing down Millar, the water ran out. The hose had melted. ‘‘There was no more water, then the house began collapsing all around where we were.’’
Seeing a dog kennel nearby, Jones tried to break up the pieces and fashion a makeshift stretcher. ‘‘It must have been the world’s strongest dog kennel, so I ran back.’’
With the portable radios not working, Lynch was forced to stay in the patrol car and provide live commentary to communications. ‘‘He ran over to where I was and we had to move Scott because there was stuff blowing up in the garage.’’
Debris was flying off the burning home, striking Jones as he tried to shield Millar, still screaming for his baby inside.
Katie and Ash were found by firefighters, together in a chair in the lounge.
‘‘I took one look at the lounge area and the roof had completed caved in, anyone in the lounge was gone, there was no chance.’’
Heat from the fire began melting his police vest. Jones noticed his skin getting tighter.
‘‘That’s when I knew we had to get out of there or we’d get crushed by debris falling from the house.’’
That’s when firefighters arrived. They ran to Jones who informed them there were still two inside. Jones stayed with Millar. Once the ambulance arrived he was scooped onto a blanket and loaded in. Millar was flown to Waikato Hospital where he died later that night.
‘‘I ran back down to the cow race where I saw this black figure slumped over the fence.
‘‘[Anthony] was coughing and wasn’t breathing properly so I loaded him into another farm vehicle.’’
Jones ordered another farm worker to retrieve his asthma inhaler before placing Anthony on the firefighter’s oxygen machine. An ambulance then took Anthony and Susan Bruce, who was pregnant at the time, to hospital.
‘‘It was one of the most intense jobs I’ve had to deal with. But you just get on with the job and come back to work the next night.’’
Jones has only been in the force four years, working as a frontline constable and currently as an acting Sergeant in Taupo¯ .
Receiving Tuesday’s award was humbling, Jones said.