A MARMION resident has been honoured for her bravery saving two lives when a jetty collapsed on Rottnest Island.
Amanda Brown received the highest award, the Gold Cross, at the Royal Life Saving Bravery Awards last Friday in recognition of her actions after the Army Jetty collapsed in October 2018.
The St Stephen’s School Duncraig teacher had been riding a bicycle on the island when she noticed the crisis unfolding in the water, where a Perth woman (63) was trapped and a mother (48) was holding her unconscious son’s (11) head up.
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READ NOW“I didn’t see it collapse, I just saw the people standing there and then a second later they were gone,” she said.
“I rode over and called 000 and then just helped out however I could.
“I jumped in (the water) and tried to get someone free but I couldn’t so then I helped out with the young boy who had stopped breathing at that point.
“Once we got him to shore just did the spinal alignment and got his airway clear.
“Then his mum came, and her foot was pretty severely injured, so just did some first aid around that too up until the ambulance arrived which was about 20 minutes.
“Then we helped to get the boy up to the ambulance and ended up monitoring the injured woman until she got airlifted out.”
Thanks to her school teacher aquatic rescue and first aid training, Ms Brown kept a cool head under pressure, putting a tourniquet on the mother’s leg and elevating it to attempt to slow the bleeding.
“I’m really glad I’d been trained, not just in first aid but in aquatic rescue,” she said.
“Obviously it’s a very shocking scenario but I guess my training equipped me to deal with what needed to be done and not indulge in feelings at the time.”
Yachtie David Hawks helped in the rescue, taking the boy to shore in his dinghy, and emergency service personnel eventually freed the trapped woman as well.
More bravery award stories:
Man receives award for saving friend
Former police officer receives bravery award
Leisure centre team recognised for helping to save patron’s life
