THE PRO PATRIA PROJECT

BURGESS Luke Jonathan

Senior Firefighter, New Zealand Fire Service

CITATION

The New Zealand Bravery Medal

Special Honours List 23 June 2014

On 22 February 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, resulting in the collapse of the six-storey Canterbury Television building. A fire had ignited in the lower levels of the building, complicating rescue efforts. Senior Firefighter Luke Burgess was part of a team of firefighters who tunnelled through the debris to rescue victims on the car park side of the building. The fourth floor had been compressed to a space of approximately 60 centimetres high with a number of people trapped inside. Luke Burgess teamed up with a second firefighter and tunnelled into the floor where they were eventually able to reach and rescue two women. The firefighters were unable to use breathing apparatus or wear helmets due to the cramped conditions. Debris had to be passed backwards along the bodies of the rescuers and down the tunnel as there was no room to turn around. Firefighters were stationed at the tunnel entrance so that when there were significant aftershocks they could quickly pull the tunnellers out by their feet. Eventually the team of tunnellers, including Burgess, located a small group of students trapped under a beam. Two bodies had to be removed before the students could be reached. One student was trapped by her ankle and it took a long time to free her, but amputation was avoided. Another student was trapped by his head, but was pulled from beneath the beam and extracted through the tunnel. A third student could not be freed until an amputation was carried out by a civilian doctor assisted by another team of firefighters, through an access hole from above. The rescue efforts of Luke Burgess and his team were carried out in dense smoke from the fire and under the constant threat of aftershocks.

KNOWN AWARDS

New Zealand Bravery Medal

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