CBD stabbing heroes save man from Five Dock house fire
Heroic firefighters who helped subdue alleged Sydney stabber Mert Ney have been praised again after pulling off a difficult rescue when a Sydney home was destroyed by fire overnight.
NSW
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The firefighters who stopped alleged Sydney stabber Mert Ney have continued their heroics by pulling a man from a burning Sydney home overnight under difficult circumstances.
Emergency services were called to the home on West Street, Five Dock, about 1.50am following reports of a fire.
Firefighters from the Drummoyne station worked to rescue an elderly man trapped inside the home but were hampered by a yard full of junk blocking their access to the property.
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Crews were eventually able to rescue the man before he was taken Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition suffering from smoke inhalation.
Police established a crime scene once the blaze was contained and a full investigation into the fire is now underway.
Gonzalo Herrera helped save the man from the fire and was one of four firefighters heralded as a hero earlier this month for stopping Michaela Dunn’s alleged killer Mert Ney.
“This is our role as we normally do it. Very different to what we experienced a couple of weeks ago,” Mr Herrera said.
Mr Herrera, senior firefighter Mitchell Bennetts, and their crew members were “just sitting in traffic when we saw a sea of people just running for their lives” on August 13.
Mr Herrera and Mr Bennett sprang into action while station officer Mike Stuart called for police assistance and senior firefighter Bennett Gardiner rushed to offer first aid.
They had no idea 20-year-old Mert Ney had allegedly killed 24-year-old sex worker Michaela Dunn in her Clarence St apartment before filming her bloodied body.
He then allegedly stabbed pedestrian Linda Bo, 41, in the shoulder outside the Hotel CBD.
Mr Bennetts said he saw a man wearing a mask and covered in blood. He grabbed a tool from the back of the fire truck before he and Mr Herrera gave chase.
“At this stage he was up on the car, he looked at me and we made eye contact. He asked me to shoot him. I was just trying to coral him,” Mr Bennetts said.
“We just wanted to try and get his attention and distract him from what appeared to be a serious assault on people,” Mr Herrera said.
The two fireys pursued the alleged knifeman but claimed he was “slippery” and eluded their grasp.
“If that person had not pushed him, he was heading for a cafe full of people,” Mr Bennetts said.
“That man was a hero.”