Hero cop gets bravery award for rescuing toddler whose father set her on fire

Stephanie Bochorsky was sitting at home watching television when she heard her neighbour scream. She didn’t hesitate to act. WARNING: Distressing

WARNING: Distressing content

During her training with WA Police, Senior Constable Stephanie Leanne Bochorsky was told that she should be prepared to face the unexpected — but nothing in her 10 years on the job prepared her for the pure evil she encountered in August 2015 just metres from her own front door.

It’s a night Constable Bochorsky will never forget. And now, four years later, she is among 73 Australians being honoured in the 2019 Australian Bravery Decorations, part of the Australian Honours System to recognise acts of bravery by people who put themselves in jeopardy to protect the lives of others.

Constable Bochorsky, now 32, was off duty and watching TV at her Doubleview home, when she heard a couple shouting at each other across the street. She’d only lived in the neighbourhood for a few weeks so didn’t know the people involved. Initially it didn’t seem serious so she decided not to intervene.

A few seconds later, a bloodcurdling scream reverberated around the street. Bolting out the door in her pyjamas, Constable Bochorsky yelled, “Are you OK, do you need help?” the reply filled her with pure adrenaline.

“(The woman across the street) screamed, ‘He’s setting my kids on fire’.”

Within seconds, Constable Bochorsky had sprinted across the street and into the unknown house. What she saw was deeply confronting.

“The toddler, who was three at the time, was standing up in her cot, in her pjs. There was a metre of flames above her head. Her whole head was engorged in flames,” Bochorsky tells news.com.au.

“I yelled out, ‘Oh my God!’ because I just couldn’t believe it.”

The young cop threw a heavy blanket onto the toddler to put out the flames. She then realised that there was someone else in the room.

Police at the scene of the Perth home.

Stephanie Bochorsky put her own life at risk to rescue others. Picture: Supplied

‘HE LOOKED POSSESSED’

“(The father) was standing beside the eight-year-old girl, pouring petrol all over her. I said, ‘What the f**k are you doing?’

“He looked possessed, that’s the best way I can describe him. His eyes were dark, he was just staring straight back at me.”

Constable Bochorsky had no idea if back up was on the way. Relying on her instincts she put on a tough front. “I said, ‘get the f**k away from her.”

Constable Bochorsky scooped up the toddler and dragged the older child out of the house.

“At no point did I look back or anything like that, I just tried to get them both out of the house as quick as I could. The mum was on the front porch, I think with another neighbour.”

THE DESPERATE RESCUE EFFORT

Knowing that she needed urgent attention Constable Bochorsky took the youngster straight to her bathroom. “I had to get her in cold water. I unbuttoned a couple of her top buttons and (her skin) was just black. She was so brave. She wasn’t screaming, she wasn’t crying, she was just weeping,” Constable Bochorsky says, her voice cracking with emotion.

Once the child was in the bath, Bochorsky started to realise the extent of her burns. “All her hair had been completely burned off. Her PJ material was dropping off into the bathtub as well.”

The mother and children were rushed to hospital where the toddler was placed in an induced coma because of the severity of her burns. She continues to recover.

The perpetrator was arrested at the scene and was later sentenced to 17 years in prison for attempted murder.

Constable Bochorsky and her fiance Detective Scott Campbell. Picture: Supplied

A SURREAL FEELING

Three years on, Constable Bochorsky says that she is shocked and humbled to be the recipient of a Star of Courage bravery award.

“It’s a surreal feeling for sure. It’s great to be acknowledged.”

Unsurprisingly, Constable Bochorsky’s mental health suffered in the aftermath of the incident. Her fiance, Detective Scott Campbell, persuaded her to get some help.

“He’s been my rock through the whole thing. If it wasn’t for him I don’t think I would have got help as early as I did.”

Constable Bochorsky is passionate about raising awareness of mental health issues such as PTSD. “I’m just hoping that coppers can speak out more openly now if they do see (mental health) symptoms,” she says.

“Coppers don’t want to ask for help because usually we’re the ones that the public seek for assistance, we don’t want to be seen as weak if we come out and talk about our emotions. But actually, the opposite is true. It’s actually helped me a lot to talk about it.”

The 2019 Australian Bravery Decorations will also present Mrs Mary Sawan with a Star of Courage award. Mrs Sawan was at her home in Malvern East, Victoria when three armed and masked intruders broke in. After her husband and son were assaulted Mrs Sawan jumped on one of the intruders and pulled his balaclava off.

Despite gunshots being fired, Mrs Sawan then tackled the second intruder who was holding a pistol. The three men fled the scene but were later identified and charged.

Sadly the 2019 Australian Bravery Decorations also include several people who died while saving others from harm including Ms Kirsty Boden who became known as “the Angel of London Bridge” after she selflessly ran towards danger to help others during the June 3, 2017 London Bridge attack.

Speaking about award recipients who died during their acts of bravery, the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove extended his sympathies. “To their families, I express the nation’s sadness at your loss but pride in your loved one’s actions,” he said.