Pride of Australia: Postie saved dogs and cats from Sydney fire
Two dogs and two cats were trapped inside a burning Sydney home when postie Richard Pumpa knocked on their door. He had just minutes to get help and save their lives.
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When postie Richard Pumpa felt intense heat radiating through the door of a Sydney home he knew something was terribly wrong.
But he didn't know he had just minutes to help save two dogs and two cats from the flames.
Earlier this year the Central Coast father of two applied for a mail delivery job at Australia Post.
It wasn't long before he was accepted, handed a bright yellow uniform and bike, and began zipping through Sydney's suburban north on his very own mail route.
"I like being out on the bike, I like the smile on peoples' faces when you deliver something they've been waiting for," The 46-year-old said.
“The only thing I don't love is the rain.”
It felt like any other day in August when the fresh-faced postie arrived at the depot to sort his mail, check his bike and set out on his route.
He was on schedule when he turned onto Lodge Street in Asquith to deliver a book.
He walked up the driveway to get a signature for the package.
"As I go to knock I can feel the door is really hot," Mr Pumpa said.
"I looked at the windows they were totally black, there was condensation on the inside."
Stepping back he saw smoke billowing from the roof.
He banged hard on the door but there was no response.
Fearing someone could be trapped inside Mr Pumpa called triple-0 and pulled down a fence looking for a way in — but the home was locked up tight.
"I got a garden hose and began spraying water on the roof tiles — it was pretty redundant looking back on it," he said.
"I don't think it did much, but it made sense at the time."
It took just minutes for Fire and Rescue NSW to arrive and the crew began unwinding their hoses and trying to rip the door off.
When they couldn't get into the burning home they smashed a window and pulled a black dog, Zack, from the home.
Images from the scene show a sickly Zack laying on blankets with an oxygen mask on his snout while firefighters comfort him.
Another dog and two cats would follow, they were all transferred to Asquith Veterinary Hospital and survived.
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Mr Pumpa collected himself and continued on his route.
It wasn't until he returned to the depot that afternoon that the enormity of his actions hit him.
His supervisor showed him a news story where firefighters lauded the "quick thinking postie".
FRNSW said the blaze was only five to ten minutes from engulfing the home and killing the animals.
"It brought a tear to my eye," Mr Pumpa said.
"I was a bit reluctant because I had just done what anyone would do."
The owner of the home, at the time, said she was “forever in his debt”.
Mr Pumpa said posties are granted a unique insight into the lives of ordinary Australians.
Recently he delivered a death certificate to an elderly man who had just lost his wife.
The man invited Mr Pumpa in for a chat, an ice block and some respite from the beating sun.
"People see this fluoro orange, yellow and green — all they can really see of you is your chin — but they let you into their lives," he said.
"It's brief but meaningful."
The act has earned Mr Pumpa a nomination for Pride of Australia.