Two police officers have been hailed as heroes after saving a man from a wendy house that had caught fire on Christmas Day.
For Lionel Conradie and Freek Steyn, it had been a normal day, but little did they know that they would be recognised as heroes by the community of Worcester.
“We were actually on our way to attend a complaint elsewhere when we saw smoke,” Conradie says.
The two officers turned around and followed the smoke to a wendy house in Noble Park where they found a man lying inside the living room.
“We had to jump over the fence and kick the door down to gain entrance to the house to pull him out,” Conradie tells Standard. He further shares that after pulling the man out of the fire, they asked the neighbours to attach their hose-pipe so that they could extinguish the fire, which they did successfully and by the time Fire and Rescue Services arrived on the scene, the fire had already been extinguished.
According to the police officer he and his colleague went back to the house a few days later to check up on the man and they were met by the family who was appreciative of the role they played in saving their family member from their blaze.
Elaborating further on the deed, Conradie mentions that it feels good to be known as someone who did something so valuable.
“I even have to hide behind a mask now,” he jokes.
Steyn, shared that he is proud of himself.
“Police officers are often not appreciated and I am happy that we could restore the image of the police. This encourages me to work even harder.”
