Stephan Fourie receives bravery award for helping rescue teen girl from burning Port Fairy cabin

A man who heroically helped drag a teenager from a burning cabin in Port Fairy has been honoured for his bravery.

Stephan Fourie has received a bravery award for pulling a teenage girl from a burning cabin in a caravan park in Port Fairy in 2017. Picture: Morgan Sette

Stephan Fourie was holidaying with his family in Port Fairy in late 2017 when he heard a loud bang sweep through the caravan park.

He looked outside and could see flames coming from a nearby cabin.

“The banging was a man trying to get inside the cabin to help,” Mr Fourie, of Nairne, said.

“Then I heard him shout, ‘there’s still a person inside’.”

That person was a 14-year-old girl who was locked in the bathroom.

The adrenaline kicked in and Mr Fourie ran to help.

The two men smashed the cabin’s bathroom window, but the plumes of black smoke that billowed out were so thick, they could not even stick their heads inside.

The Port Fairy cabin on fire. Picture: Stephan Fourie

Mr Fourie alerted other holiday-makers who evacuated their cabins and moved to safety, before racing around the blazing cabin, looking for any avenue to rescue the girl.

“As I came around the side, the girl stuck her head out the bathroom window,” he said.

“We pulled half of her body through the window but her hips got stuck.

“I could see the flames coming through the roof and under the gutters and knew it was only a matter of minutes before it was all gone.

“We counted to three and then pulled as hard as we could and somehow forced her through the hole.”

Mr Fourie said it was not until the following morning that he realised his eyebrows were singed and his face looked badly sunburnt.

“It all happened so quickly, you don’t think, you just do,” he said.

Mr Fourie’s effort has been recognised with a commendation for brave conduct in the Australian Bravery Awards, announced today.

“I feel humbled, I did not expect it,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I’m just glad I could assist in saving someone’s life.

“And I am glad that I was in the right place at the right time to be able to help.”

The aftermath of the cabin that was destroyed in the fire. Picture: Stephan Fourie

Mr Fourie, who often holidays in caravan parks with his wife, Stephanie, and their children Karla, 6, and Emma, 11, said for the most part, he had put the incident behind him.

“But every time we go camping, I make sure we don’t lock the doors to the cabin in case there’s a fire and we need to exit,” he said.

“I have seen how quickly a fire can consume a space or house, so I am always extra cautious.”

Mr Fourie, who moved to Australia from South Africa with Stephanie 10 years ago, said the incident had made the couple want to be more involved in their community.

He said after the Cudlee Creek bushfire in late 2019, they had helped sort clothing donations at the Lobethal RSL.

“The sense of helping and caring is unique to Australia,” Mr Fourie said.