embers of Orana Local Area Command claim they were just doing their job when they ran into a burning building and talked a man laying siege in his house with knives to give himself up but they were recognised for their bravery and professionalism during difficult and dangerous situations.
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Senior Constables Nita Morris and Darren Stevenson were awarded Local Area Commanders Commendations for ignoring smoke and flames to check a blazing house for occupants in Wellington last year, while Senior Constable Brett Tolhurst was recognised for successfully ending a siege involving a man with a knife in Wellington.
All three said it was nice to be recognised and also agreed they would do the exact same thing again if required.
Senior Constable Morris and Senior Constable Stevenson were the first two on the scene of a house fire on June 13, 2013. They were unable to ascertain from onlookers whether there was anyone inside the house and decided to look.
One of the bedrooms was already well alight and the fire was spreading, while smoke was also a major hazard.
The pair entered through the back door and searched as much of the house as they could, before smoke and flames forced them out of the building.
“Children had been seen previously in the house and no one was certain if anyone was still in there. We went in and did the best we could under the circumstances until we were driven out,” Senior Constable Morris said.
“The firies turned up and searched the rest of house and thankfully no one was in there.
“If it was my house that was burning, I’d want someone to go in and check to make sure there was no one inside so we just did what anyone else would do.”
Senior Constable Tolhurst found himself playing negotiator when he arrived on the scene of a domestic on June 1, this year.
“He was quite agitated. He wasn’t physically assaulting anyone but it was verbal and his behaviour was pretty bad. We arrived and the family is in the street, he has two knives in his hands and he ran back into the house,” Senior Constable Tolhurst said.
“We started talking to him, got the family away and asked for some support from Dubbo, which came fairly promptly. We kept talking to him while everyone secured the area. We had a trained negotiator come in, I knew him fairly well and we both knew the man in the house so there was some knowledge there.
“Both of us talked to him and he came around.”
Once he came out of the house, he was taken to Wellington hospital and had him assessed before taking him to the mental health unit at Dubbo Hospital.
“In the initial stages it was quite harrowing to say the least but it all worked out,” Senior Constable Tolhurst said.
Senior Constable Morris was presented with her Police Medal 30 year clasp while Senior Constable Stevenson had reached 10 years of service but wasn’t presented with his Police Medal yesterday.
As well as serving in excess of 20 years in the NSW Police, Senior Constable Tolhurst has also been on tour to Malaysia, the Soloman Islands, East Timor and performed border protection as part of the Army Reserves.
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