Five years after Tewantin Senior Constable Stephen Fitzpatrick risked his life to save Cooroibah residents from a fast spreading, unpredictable and life-threatening bushfire his actions have been recognised with a Queensland Police Bravery Medal.
On 8 November 2019 the Tewantin officer-in-charge headed to Cooroibah to investigate a report of a bushfire, initially affecting the Johns Road area.
He was met by a dynamic fire that was rapidly changing course and firefighters who told him “you’d better leave because we’re not hanging around”.
“I said, but you’ve got all these people in the houses,” Sen const Fitzpatrick told Noosa Today.
“They said we can’t do anything you’ve got to leave, so they left.”
Working alone Snr Const Fitzpatrick criss-crossed the road, going from house to house to evacuate people and pets, putting them into the police Landcruiser.
“The road was cut off with flames in two sections,” he said.
“We had about a 600-700m gap. All up there was about 15 houses. I went from one house where there might be no one then I’d go to another house and there were two pensioners watching ‘General Hospital’ oblivious to the fact their garden was on fire and thick smoke was everywhere. So we got their medication, got them in the car. I went to another place. The guy had headphones on. I had to kick his door in, drag him out, put him in the car. I picked up a couple of dogs that were in a house by themselves.
“At one stage in the car I had nine people in the Landcruiser and a dog. It’s got a lock up in the back. The dog was in there and a man as well. I had seven adults, two kids and a baby at one stage.
“My Landcruiser had four flat tyres. The heat forces the air from the tyres. I was driving on rims.
“Some people were oblivious to the fact there was a fire.
“People were saying you could probably put the fire out with a hose but everyone’s on tank water and you need a pump and there’s no power so there’s nothing you can do.
“Fire was on each side of the road. Driving into houses the fire was in the yard. As you’re driving out there’s fire everywhere and embers – you’ve never seen anything like it. I drove into one place, next minute the gas bottle in the shed blew up, then it came crashing down.
“I ended up driving through flames. The windscreen wipers were on fire. I had to get a fire extinguisher out.
“But we didn’t lose any people. That was the main thing.”
Using his knowledge of the area Snr const Fitzpatrick took the evacuees to a property on the southern side of Lake Cooroibah Road that backed on to the lake, enabling evacuation by boat if necessary.
As quickly as the fire had come it left with a wind change and firefighters were able to return, he said.
The Cooroibah fire caused significant property damage including the loss of several houses, sheds, boats and vehicles as well as bushland.
When bushfires impacted the Peregian area Snr const Fitzpatrick again rushed to help. Off duty at the time he travelled to the police station, With no vehicle available he jumped on a quad bike and drove down David Low Way, working with other police to evacuate everyone while extinguishing spot fires in backyards with garden hoses as they went. About 9000 people were evacuated overall during the bushfire events.
Eighteen months after the bushfires, after about 22 years in the police force, Stephen Fitzpatrick retired, a mandatory requirement for officers reaching the age of 60.
Last month Deputy Commissioner Mark Kelly presented the retired officer with a bravery medal “for his exceptional courage and determination to protect the Queensland community during unprecedented and hazardous circumstances”.
