Nightcaps men receive award for rescuing neighbour
Two Southlanders who risked their lives to rescue a neighbour from a lethal house fire in 2015 have had a chance to reflect on the incident this weekend.
Nightcaps residents Conrad Waihape and Phil Manson both received New Zealand Bravery Awards from the office of the Governor-General, during a special presentation by Southland District mayor Gary Tong in the town’s rugby club on Saturday night.
Waihape, who is also a local volunteer fireman, received the New Zealand Bravery Medal, and Manson the New Zealand Bravery Certificate for their parts in the incident that ultimately took the life of mutual neighbour Udo ‘‘Rudy’’ Rach on the warm summer’s evening of January 2, 2015.
The Sinclair Ave emergency was first detected by builder and resident of 20 years Manson, who was settling down to enjoy a beer after work when he heard cries for help.
‘‘I’d come home and got tea on and, because it was a lovely evening, decided to have my stubby outside for a change. It was just as well I did, because I heard Rudy screaming and shot round straight away,’’ he said.
‘‘There was a pane of glass blown out and [Rudy’s] dog was running around outside, so I went in to see if I could help, but the smoke and fumes got to me. I could see Rudy lying on the floor, but I couldn’t handle the heat and smoke, so I came back out and roared for Conrad.
‘‘My only thought was to get [Rudy] out of there. You don’t really think about yourself but I just couldn’t breathe, so Conrad was out like a flash and took control.’’
Waihape takes up the story: ‘‘I just heard Phil yelling from my shed and got round there. There was some blackening outside the building, but the fire was largely internal still, although it was giving out pretty fierce heat by now.
‘‘Phil told me [Rudy] was still in there, so you just do what you do, your training kicks in. It was a case of get in, get him out.’’
Conditions in Rach’s property were, by now, deteriorating fast.
‘‘There was a lot of heat in there, and it was pretty dark and bloody hard to see but that’s what you get trained for,’’ Waihape said.
‘‘I could see Rudy was in a pretty bad way, so I just got him out quick.’’
At this point the teamwork of a close-knit community came to the fore, Waihape said.
‘‘We all worked together to get the fire under control, keep Rudy as comfortable as possible before the ambulance came, and make sure the area was safe enough to prevent things from becoming any worse.’’
Rach was flown to Dunedin Hospital, where sadly he died at 6pm the following night as a result of ‘‘extensive burns, smoke inhalation and their complications.’’
Waihape had nothing but praise for neighbour and fellow rescuer Manson.
‘‘Phil’s a wee bit older than me and not a trained fire officer, so when you experience heat like that for the first time, it can bowl you over. But I’m not surprised Phil attempted to get Rudy out. Nightcaps is the sort of community where we all look out for one another,’’ he said.
Manson praised neighbour of 15 years Waihape in turn.
‘‘He’s just a real top guy. As soon as I called I knew he’d head straight in and pull Rudy out,’’ he said.
Both men mourned the loss of ‘‘exemplary’’ neighbour Rach.
‘‘[Rudy] was a good neighbour and a gentleman. He’d always feed the cats and dogs when we went away and that sort of thing,’’ Manson said.
Waihape agreed: ‘‘Yeah, it’s pretty gut-wrenching. He was an awesome bugger, very proud of his home and kept himself to himself. You couldn’t have asked for a nicer neighbour.’’
Receiving the award was something neither man had sought, although they were grateful for the acknowledgement ‘‘for the whole community,’’ Manson said.
‘‘It’s pretty special. But, at the end of the day, I’d sooner have Rudy back next door than any award.’’