Shellharbour SES hero recognised for death-defying bushfire rescue

Surrounded by fire on all sides, Shellharbour SES member John McCloghry couldn’t believe his ears.

“We’re going to run the gauntlet,” a police officer told him.

“The gauntlet” was 5 km of blazing highway between Bendalong and Milton, filled with smoke and flames, flanked by enormous gums that could fall at any time.

“I asked him if he was insane,” John said.

“Then I said, ‘OK’.”

On 21 November, John was one of five NSW SES volunteers recognised for their incredible acts of bravery.

The Royal Humane Society of NSW Awards for Bravery Investiture recognises and supports acts of bravery and selflessness across Australia.

For nearly 150 years, they have honoured those who risk their lives for others, ensuring their extraordinary deeds are acknowledged, remembered, and celebrated for generations to come.

John received a Bronze Medal at NSW Parliament House for the evacuation of Fishermans Paradise on 31 December, 2019.

A retired police officer and an active SES volunteer at the time, he had spent weeks sleeping on the side of the highway whenever the blaze threatened his Bendalong home.

“It was never-ending,” he said.

“I knew it was going to come through, but I didn’t know when.”

On 31 December, John received a call from his SES acting commander. The fire, threatening for weeks, was on its way.

John was to gather a crew and tell residents at Fishermans Paradise the time had come to leave.

He arrived at the Princes Highway and Fishermans Point Road intersection to find a police unit and ambulance already there.

It was extremely hot, with westerly winds howling.

Then the fire arrived.

“I looked over my shoulder and there was a wall of black and flame three or four kilometres away,” John said.

“About 10 minutes later, all hell broke loose.”

The fire swept through under the Myrtle Gully bridge and residents came streaming out of Fishermans Paradise.

Smoke and embers rained down; the ambulance retreated to the corner of Bendalong Road and the Princes Highway.

John directed the evacuees after it before he and the police took off in different directions to evacuate nearby homes.

As John returned to the corner, a Fire and Rescue ute came speeding up with two firies slumped in the back.

“They were smouldering and smoking, just shattered,” John said.

“They’d gone in to try to save an older lady in Myrtle Gully and rolled the truck.

“The firie who was driving went back for another member who was still in there.

“I sat them in the LandCruiser and raced them up to the ambulance. The car smelt of burning flesh and hair.”

When John arrived, he found about 20 cars parked by the side of the road with dozens of people milling about, along with the ambulance and police.

There was panic in the air.

“The fire had crossed the highway north at Wandandian and south at Myrtle Gully,” John said.

“It had also crossed down Bendalong Road and was bearing in from the west. There were trees fallen across the road, it was a mess.

“Everyone was freaking out, understandably, there were families there.

“I said to the officer, ‘Mate, what are we going to do? We’re sitting ducks, and so are all these people’.

“We had to make a really big decision.”

John rang his unit commander and informed her of the situation as the ambulance officers worked on the burnt firies.

The police officer radioed for help, and John saw his head slump.

That was when he learnt about the insane evacuation plan.

A police car was going to be sent from Nowra, through 8 km of blazing highway.

When – and if – it arrived, the two police cars would form a convoy with the civilian cars and drive as fast as possible through the 5 km of burning highway to the south.

“If one car had a prang, everyone behind them would burn to death,” John said.

John agreed to be the last car, in the hopes that if the worst did happen, he could offer some help.

He didn’t really believe the Nowra police car would make it through when it emerged out of the smoke.

“The paint was burnt off, the antennas were gone, the red and blue lights were melted,” John said.

“His car was slowly melting around it but he made it through the fireground.”

The news that their survival plan involved driving through the fire they had fled did not go down well with many people.

But the deal was struck – follow the car in front, drive as fast as you can, and don’t stop for anything.

John hit record on his phone, just in case, and they drove into the dark.

“I couldn’t see the bull-bar on my LandCruiser; I couldn’t see the police light on the car in front of me,” he said.

“The heat and the flames on either side of the road were immense, but by some miracle we popped out at Milton.”

Everyone made it. Not content with his work for the day, John began doorknocking with his SES team, handing out water as they went.

“It was one of those ‘wrong place, wrong time’ moments – the story of my life,” he said.

“It was just desperation, there was no real choice about it.

“But I’m more proud of this than any award I received as a police officer.

“As a volunteer, you’re not getting paid, you’re acting from your heart to help your community.”

John’s eight sisters only found out the full details of what happened on New Year’s Eve 2019 when he received his award.

“I didn’t want to worry them,” he said.

NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kearns said the five awarded members showcased remarkable courage in the face of danger.

“Today we recognise and thank these members for their acts of bravery,” Assistant Commissioner Kearns said.

“Day in and day out, they demonstrate their commitment to their local communities in protecting and serving during times of floods, storms and other natural disasters, including fires.”