General News
28 February, 2023
Neighbours swim to rescue
TWO men have swum across the Curdies River to aid an elderly neighbour.
TWO men have swum across the Curdies River to aid an elderly neighbour.
The Curdivale property on LeCouteur Road was completely razed to the ground.
Hexham’s Dougal Ranken was at his family’s farm which sits across the Curdie River from the LeCourteur Road property.
“We were taking a mob of cattle away and saw the smoke,” he said.
“My dad rang my sister and my sister got on to 000. In the mean time my dad and I went down to take a look at it and we could hear her yelling for help.
“I quickly jumped into the river and swam across.”
Upon exiting the river, Mr Ranken found the woman outside of her house.
“She was very lucky,” he said.
“She said to me “yeah I’m okay, I didn’t get a puff of smoke”.”
Mr Ranken said the swim across the river was 10 to 15 metres.
“I just got in and got across and tried to locate the lady,” he said.
“Dad stayed across the river and about five minutes later my brother in law (Tom Harrison) swam over the river as well.
“I stayed with her for awhile. There was an off duty paramedic who was swimming in the area and she came and helped out.”
Mr Ranken said he would not hesitate to do the same thing again if the situation arose.
“It’s just the neighbourly thing you do,” he said.
Cobden police sergeant Craig Jenkins said emergency services responded to a house fire in LeCouteur Rd, Curdievale after a 000 call was made around 8.15pm last Wednesday.
“Police from Cobden and Terang attended along with numerous local CFA units. In all there were seven tankers and three support units on scene,” he said.
“An elderly female (single occupant) had alerted neighbours to a fire at her property.
“Neighbours heard her calls for help and two men swam across the Curdies River to aid her, and assist her to safety.”
Sgt Jenkins said the fire was extinguished and the site made safe.
“Being a house fire, there were a lot of toxins and chemicals involved in the blaze and it was a considerable and strong effort from the CFA to control the situation,” he said.
“No neighbouring properties were endangered thanks to the swift response from the CFA.
“They did a great job to bring the fire under control.”
Sgt Jenkins praised the two men who swam across to help their neighbour.
“The efforts of the two males is a fantastic example of community spirit to assist their elderly neighbour in a time of crisis,” he said.
“The woman was assessed by paramedics on-scene and was conveyed to safety and is now with her family and friends.”
District 6 assistant chief fire officer Craig Brittain commended the CFA brigades on their efforts.
“Due to the extensive damage the official cause of the fire will be undetermined,” he said.
Mr Brittain said it was a timely reminder for residents to ensure they have working smoke detectors in their homes.
“They play an important role and community members should have a fire plan in place,” he said.
