. Earth Science News .
Bare-chested Aussie fire hero hailed in parliament

A burnt out house on the top of a hill at Steels Creek, about 45 kms northeast of Melbourne. Photo courtesy AFP.
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Feb 12, 2009
An Australian man who climbed bare-chested onto a hotel roof to help save children sheltering from wildfires raging all around was hailed in parliament as a hero Thursday.

Armed only with a garden hose, tradesman Peter Thorneycroft, 43, fought flying embers hitting the roof as dozens of children huddled in the hotel's cool room and neighbouring houses went up in flames, the Daily Telegraph reported.

"There in the papers today is the unforgettable picture of him standing calmly on the roof dressed in a pair of shorts and thongs (flip-flops), no shirt as the sky blazed orange around him," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told parliament.

"The houses opposite the pub had all exploded, the witnesses say, and if Peter hadn't done what he did the pub would have gone up too.

"Peter says there's no one who's heroic, you just do it.

"Peter Thorneycroft is an Australian hero, he is a genuine Australian hero," Rudd said.

At least 181 people were killed in the wildfires that swept through the southeast state of Victoria last weekend, and thousands of firefighters are still battling around 30 fires.

The area where Thorneycroft made his stand on the roof of the Kinglake National Park Hotel was one of the hardest hit.

But just as no man is a hero to his valet, Thorneycroft's wife Jodie was cool in her assessment of her husband's efforts.

She had left the area but kept in constant phone contact during the drama.

"Everyone was in hysterics," she told The Daily Telegraph. "He just kept going, 'Everyone's dead, everyone's dead' and I just said, 'Shut up and do what you've got to do.'"

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Chinese TV employee among 12 held over fire: police
Beijing (AFP) Feb 12, 2009
Beijing police said Thursday they had detained a senior staff member at China's state television station and 11 other people over a fireworks show that set part of its new headquarters ablaze.







  • Bare-chested Aussie fire hero hailed in parliament
  • Chinese TV employee among 12 held over fire: police
  • Albania lays charges over blast that killed 26
  • Australian PM accuses arsonists of 'murder on a grand scale'

  • Rains bring relief from China drought
  • NIreland environment minister bans climate change ads
  • GREENHOUSE 09: New Climate Change Challenges
  • China struggles with drought

  • NASA Mission Meets The Carbon Dioxide Measurement Challenge
  • NASA's Terra Captures Forest Fire Horror From Orbit
  • NOAA-N Prime Environmental Satellite Launched
  • Raytheon Submits Final Proposal For NOAA's Environmental Satellite Ground Segment

  • Analysis: Iraqi oil meetings set the stage
  • Analysis: Venezuela cuts more oil output
  • Missing Mexican island fuels mystery
  • Google testing home electricity use software

  • AIDS funds head fears impact of economic crisis
  • Gum disease feared to trigger full-blown AIDS: Japan study
  • Time to overhaul action for children hit by AIDS: report
  • Large-billed Crow tested positive for H5N1: govt

  • 'Modern methods' pit reindeer herders against animal activists
  • Life Above And Below
  • Vanishing Philippines wetlands threatens Arctic bird migration
  • Big Snake In A Warm Climate

  • Dell expands US electronics recycling program
  • EU to launch environment project 'auction'
  • Syncrude faces fines for duck deaths
  • Pollution preferable to unemployment for Romanian town

  • Myanmar envoy brands boat people 'ugly as ogres'
  • Best-selling author backs genies over geniuses
  • Famous fossil secretly scanned in Texas
  • Tom Cruise Smile Comes With A Sunburn Price

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement