‘It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him’: Hero Alan Dare remembered

The son of Alan Dare - the man killed alongside two police officers in a horror ambush after he went to help - has paid tribute to his dad, as Queensland prepares to farewell the hero.

A police contingent will today attend the funeral of Alan Dare, the man murdered alongside police officers Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow when he drove to the property of Gareth and Stacey Train to investigate a fire.

Alan Dare will receive a posthumous medal for bravery.

Mr Dare will receive a posthumous medal for bravery from the Queensland Police Service, with his family to be presented with the accolade in mid-January.

Mr Dare’s son Corey Richards said he and his mother Kerry met with Assistant Commissioner Charysse Pond today to discuss the honour, which will be presented in mid-January.

“It’s awesome,” he said.

Mr Richards said he had not been surprised when he had been told about his father’s brave act.

Gareth and Stacey, as well as Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, had lit fires in an attempt to flush out another police officer, Constable Keely Brough, who had fled into the bush.

They had also set fire to a police car, which Mr Dare saw in flames when he approached his neighbours’ property.

The three Trains were later shot by Special Emergency Response Team officers.

“It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him. There was a fire up the road and it was, we’ll go make sure everyone’s OK.

“It’s pretty much what most people would do. He wasn’t out of the ordinary brave, but he would always make sure he was there to help people.”

Alan Dare with his wife Kerry.

Mr Richards said his father, who had raised him since he was four years old, did not immediately leave when he saw the police car on fire, but tried to work out what was happening.

“Sometimes you wait your lifetime to try and find your father and then you realise he’s gone and you had him the whole time,” Mr Richards said.

He said Mr Dare was very mechanically minded and he would call him often to ask for advice on how to fix things.

“If I ever got stuck or ever even finished something, it was a proud moment to ring him and gloat,” Mr Richards said.

“He was the only person who I really wanted to be proud of me.

“I knew mum was from the get-go, but he was the one I wanted to make proud.”