Cranbourne’s Michael Tucker last week received a gold medal for bravery for saving two youngsters from a house fire. 24765
By Bridget Brady
ASTHMATIC Michael Tucker last week received a bravery award for saving children from a burning house and says he would do it again in a second if he had to.
Mr Tucker came to the rescue of his neighbours the Coward family in January when their Cranbourne house was on fire in the middle of the night.
He entered the house and rescued youngsters Shakira and Bailey who were huddled in the corner of a bedroom.
“I have kids of my own and I thought if mine were caught in a fire I would want people to help me,” he said.
Mr Tucker, dressed only in shorts, wrapped a dressing gown around his head and went into the house.
He groped around the room until he felt “something”.
“I picked up the little girl who was wrapped in a blanket and passed her out the window and didn’t realise there was someone under her.”
He went back to the corner of the room and picked up the boy and rescued him.
Mr Tucker jumped out the window as the roof fell in and collapsed from smoke inhalation as soon as he was outside and was taken to hospital.
Mr Tucker said he did not think much about his bravery at the time but later realised the enormity of what happened.
“It was a bit of a blur and I think I was in the house for about five or 10 minutes but it all happened way too fast.”
Mr Tucker said he was “over the moon” to receive the gold medal for bravery at The Royal Humane Society of Australasia annual bravery award presentation at Government House last Thursday.
Shakira, then 5, received a bronze medal because she used fire tips she learnt from school to get her younger brother out of bed and onto the floor where she wrapped them both in a blanket.
“She did an outstanding job,” Mr Tucker said.
