A CFA firefighter has received a bravery award today for his efforts in saving a man’s life following a motor vehicle collision on 30 April 2013.
Traralgon Leading Firefighter Alex Batty was awarded a Regional Citizen's Commendation from Victoria Police, which is given to community members who have performed a conspicuous act of bravery or provided exemplary service in connection with Victoria Police operations or for the community.
“I’m extremely honoured to receive this award and I want to thank Victoria Police for nominating me,” Alex said.
Alex has been a CFA firefighter for 14 years – starting at the young age of 16 as a volunteer firefighter at Riddells Creek Fire Brigade.
On the night of the accident, Alex was off duty and walking along Alexandra Parade in South Yarra at the front of the Botanical Gardens when he saw the accident involving a motorcycle and car.
He found a motorcyclist unconscious and not breathing so Alex made the life-saving decision to remove his helmet and started performing CPR.
“In certain situations we wouldn’t remove a helmet or remove someone from a vehicle after an accident because it could add to injuries but this was a life or death situation,” Alex said.
“Ambulance Victoria arrived quickly so I remained on scene assisting paramedics with CPR.”
Paramedics told Alex he saved the man’s life.
“It’s not something I thought too much about at the time, my job is to protect and save people so I did what I could and I’d do it again,” Alex said.
Alex was previously a firefighter at Hallam Fire Brigade which is part of the Emergency Medical Response (EMR) program. A brigade involved in EMR allows those accredited firefighters to respond to life threatening ‘priority 000’ calls – such as cardiac arrest and any incident where a person is unconscious and not breathing – while an ambulance is en route.
“I’m lucky I’ve had so much experience with CPR in my role which gave me the confidence to treat the patient in this particular incident,” he said.
“I’m proud to be a firefighter and to save lives. It was a team effort that night and I want to recognise and thank the other emergency services involved.”
Author: CFA Media