TRUCKIE’S BRAVE RESCUE

A HUMBLE Townsville dump truck driver says he was “just doing his job” when he helped rescue 60 people from rising floodwaters, but his bravery has been honoured as his selfless actions come to light.

Glen Hardy, 51, still remembers the call he received from his work, Townsville City Council, asking him to help stretched emergency crews to evacuate Idalia residents the afternoon of February 3 last year.

The dump truck driver didn’t second-guess his decision to help, and ploughed his truck from home to home rescuing stranded families who were already up to their waist in water. He piled people, stressed and scared, in the back of his truck as he concentrated on keeping the tyres on the road. As the sky turned dark, Mr Hardy became stuck and the front wheels of his truck bogged in the front yard of a flooded home.

Despite the concerns from a police officer, Mr Hardy jumped out of the truck cab into chest-deep, fast-flowing water to figure out what was wrong.

He called in the help of a colleague, grader driver Kelly Twine, to pull them out. Without any regard for his own safety, Mr Hardy took the tow rope and duck-dived under his vehicle into gushing water to try to hook it on.

“It took a couple of attempts … the first one was average, but the second time I had figured out where to hook the rope on,” he said.

Mr Hardy remained calm through the entire ordeal, saying he was only concerned about the people who needed his help.

Mr Hardy, a dedicated council worker for 12 years, finally put his feet up six hours later, but the work had only just started.

The grandfather returned to volunteer the next day and kept working for several days to try to help those affected by the floods.

His brave actions earned him an Australian Bravery Award – a Commendation for Brave Conduct Award announced by Governor-General David Hurley.

“I had to read (the email) twice, I thought someone was having a go at me,” Mr Hardy said.

“I am amazed … there are a lot of other people who helped and deserve recognition, but I am thankful to whoever nominated me.”

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said that Mr Hardy put his life at risk to help people.

“Glen persevered in his heroic efforts and the residents in the truck were delivered to safety. I am thrilled that Glen’s brave actions are being recognised and I join with the entire community for thanking him for his efforts,” she said.

Almost 3300 homes were damaged in the February 2019 floods – 2063 with minor damage, 1101 with moderate damage and 135 homes with severe damage, according to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

An Insurance Council of Australia spokeswoman said that the total estimated loss from the Townsville floods was $1.24bn with 29,935 claims lodged.

I am amazed … there are a lot of other people who deserve recognition