Brave bloke

By Lia Bichel
A BRAVE Casey resident who rescued a man from drowning and now owns a business focusing on safety has received an Australian Bravery Medal.
David Patrick Thomson, of Lysterfield South, was honoured this week for saving a man who was trapped in a submerged excavator during a frightening incident on 1 June 2009.
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Quentin Bryce said the national bravery awards recognised the heroic actions of people who placed the safety and lives of others before their own.
“We are privileged to have such role models in our society, and it is an honour to be able to recognise their acts of selfless bravery and thank them publicly for their brave actions, undertaken both in Australia and overseas,” Ms Bryce said.
During the late morning of 1 June 2009, Mr Thomson was at his boat hire business on Mordialloc Creek when he heard a loud splash nearby.
An excavator fell from a pontoon into a creek, trapping the operator in the submerged cabin where he was struggling to keep his head above water.
Mr Thomson, 44, said it was instinct that drove him to jump into the icy cold water to try and rescue the trapped man.
He tried lifting the operator to keep his airways clear but the man couldn’t move and continued to swallow mouthfuls of water.
Mr Thomson called two bystanders to phone an ambulance and retrieve a length of tubing from his nearby office.
The bystanders came back from the office with a section of vacuum cleaner hose, which Mr Thomson inserted into the man’s mouth and blew air into to assist his breathing.
Mr Thomson said there was a moment he thought he would not be able to save the trapped man.
“We tried a whole range of things. I thought all of our efforts had been exhausted,” Mr Thomson said.
“It was very stressful. It all lasted about 10 minutes, but it felt like 10 weeks.”
Mr Thomson was eventually able to release the man’s feet from the excavator pedals and pull him from the cabin up to the surface, which is when paramedics arrived and took over.
He reunited with the man he rescued shortly after the horrific incident.
“It was very emotional for both of us,” he said.
“We both knew it was a close call.”
Mr Thomson said the horrific event shook him up physically. He was sick for a week following the incident due to the large amount of water he swallowed.
But the incident also shook him up emotionally.
“It’s had a pretty profound effect on me,” Mr Thomson said.
“So much so, that I purchased a business in Hallam, Impact Solutions, that focuses on safety and maintenance in high risk environments.”
While acknowledging he was honoured to receive recognition for his efforts, Mr Thomson said he thought the real hero was the man he rescued.
“I can’t stress enough that the bravest person during thew situation was the man who was drowning,” Mr Thomson said.
“He was incredibly composed through the whole situation. We were very lucky.”