Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Heroism

"...A two-year-old girl has died and her parents have suffered severe burns trying to rescue her from a house fire in Australia.

Emergency crews were called to the house in King Street, Swan Hill, 340km north-west of Melbourne, shortly before 9.30pm on Monday, police said.
The dead girl's brother, four, escaped injury but her parents were burned trying to rescue the little girl from the flames.


Her father, 28, suffered burns to 25 per cent of his body - chiefly his hands, feet and back - while her mother, 25, suffered burns to 60 per cent of her body, Rural Ambulance Service spokesman John Mullen said..."

Link:

The word is often misused, especially by the media who seem to have never opened a dictionary or thesaurus.

But that is Heroism in my book.

10 comments:

KG said...

And mine.
I can't begin to imagine what they're going through right now.With all the stories we read about scumbag "parents" it's a sobering reminder of just how much the vast majority of them will sacrifice for their kids.
Bless 'em.

Anonymous said...

What a test of character to have to face. I really feel for them. I have got to middle age without ever having to have my courage tested like that. I wonder if I would have enough cojones to do what they did in similar circumstances. I hope so, but until you need it you never know.

Brian Smaller

Lucia Maria said...

Wow. That's just so sad that the little girl couldn't be saved. I remember reading somewhere that one of the major dangers after running into a burning building to save someone is lung damage from the super-heated air. The parents won't be out of the woods yet.

TouchStone said...

Not all heros wear uniforms or receive medals.

And sadly, not all heroic stories end in "happily ever after", either.

Oswald Bastable said...

"...And sadly, not all heroic stories end in "happily ever after", either..."


That's what I was thinking when I read this one.

They did what I would like to think that I would do...

Gecko said...

That is impressive! Not only do they have to cope with the loss of their daughter, they have to go through the agony of their burns. 60% burns is serious.

Mrs Smith said...

True - I don't like it when the media dub somone a hero who did nothing more than be in a dangerous position, without any choice in the matter. Heroism is a big word.

Unknown said...

Bugger all heroic stories end well. Its situations that are heading for a bad ending that require heroism.

Upham often said he didn't do anything that a dozen other guys did, he was just lucky enough not to get killed doing it.

Oswald Bastable said...

Mrs Smith- exactly!

Anonymous said...

My hero is my father. In April 1945 he walked many times into a bombardment by the full NZ Div Artillery to pull two sections of men (mostly wounded or dead) out (they were caught out of position - what we call a friendly fire incident these days). He caught a piece of shrap in his head and they gave him the MM.

Brian Smaller