23 JULY 2014 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 78 2169

to free a woman and two children. The Police officers then searched for audible tapping or voices and managed to pinpoint the locations of at least eight survivors. Where possible the officers dug down to the survivors they located and using stretchers sourced from the nearby Inland Revenue building carried the survivors to waiting medical personnel. They heard a woman calling for help in the burning area of the building and made several attempts to reach her from outside the building, with only wet clothing wrapped around their heads to protect against the heat and smoke. This occurred before the Fire Service had arrived on the scene. Due to a brief change in wind direction they were able to climb down inside the building, reach the woman and pull her free, but were engulfed by smoke and flames and unable to go further into the building to look for more survivors. The efforts of Michael Kneebone and the other Police officers rescued at least six people from the CTV site.

Joshua James KUMBAROFF
Firefighter, New Zealand Fire Service

Citation

On 22 February 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, causing the collapse of the Pyne Gould Corporation building, trapping around 30 people inside. Firefighter Josh Kumbaroff was part of a team of firefighters who tunnelled into a space of around 30 centimetres between the building’s collapsed floors to rescue a trapped woman. The cramped conditions meant that no breathing apparatus or helmets could be worn. Kumbaroff was joined by two other firefighters and as the smallest team member he led the crawl through the tunnel, clearing a path through office equipment and furniture with hand tools. The woman had previously called for help on her cellphone and the firefighters arranged to have her cellphone called to help locate her. Kumbaroff located the woman trapped in a space behind an immovable large concrete beam. As the firefighters left the tunnel an aftershock hit and the team reported feeling concrete pressing simultaneously against their chests and backs. An engineer was consulted and advised that the beam was not safe to move. Urban Search and Rescue personnel had arrived by this point and a plan was formulated to tunnel down to the woman from above. Kumbaroff then crawled back to the woman to let her know how the USAR team planned to extricate her. The woman was rescued by USAR later that day. Josh Kumbaroff was a new and relatively inexperienced firefighter and this was his first experience of tunnelling. He carried out his rescue efforts in cramped and unstable conditions under the constant threat of aftershocks.

Daniel James LEE
Constable, New Zealand Police

Citation

When the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch on 22 February 2011, Mr Daniel Lee, formerly Constable Lee of the New Zealand Police, was one of the first Police officers in attendance at the collapsed Canterbury Television building. A fire had ignited in the lower levels of the building, complicating rescue efforts. Constable Lee worked with three other Police officers on the roof of the building to conduct several rescues amongst the rubble of the building’s lift tower. Their lives were at particular risk during the first hour when they were working under the precarious lift tower that was disintegrating with each aftershock. They were initially able to free a woman and two children. The Police officers then searched for audible tapping or voices and managed to pinpoint the locations of at least eight survivors. Where possible the officers dug down to the survivors they located and using stretchers sourced from the nearby Inland Revenue building carried the survivors to waiting medical personnel. They heard a woman calling for help in the burning area of the building and made several attempts to reach her from outside the building with only wet clothing wrapped around their heads to protect against the heat and smoke. This occurred before the Fire Service had arrived on the scene. Due to a brief change in wind direction they were able to climb down inside the building, reach the woman and pull her free, but were engulfed by smoke and flames and unable to go further into the building to look for more survivors. The efforts of Daniel Lee and the other Police officers rescued at least six people from the CTV site.

Michael John LENNARD
Senior Firefighter, New Zealand Fire Service

Citation

On 22 February 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, causing the collapse of the Pyne Gould Corporation building, trapping around 30 people inside. Senior Firefighter Mike Lennard was part of a team of firefighters who tunnelled into a space of around 30 centimetres between the building’s collapsed floors to rescue a trapped woman. The cramped conditions meant that no breathing apparatus or helmets could be worn. Lennard followed two other firefighters into the tunnel and acted as a messenger, passing information between the Officer in Charge outside and the team inside the building. The trapped woman had previously called for help on her cellphone and Lennard arranged for the Officer in Charge to call her in order to help pinpoint her position. The woman was found trapped behind an immovable large concrete beam. As the firefighters left the tunnel an aftershock hit and the team reported feeling concrete pressing simultaneously against their chests and backs. An engineer was consulted and advised that the beam was not safe to move. Urban Search and Rescue personnel had arrived by this point and a plan was formulated to tunnel down to the woman from above. The woman was rescued by USAR later that day. Mike Lennard’s rescue efforts were carried out in cramped and unstable conditions under the constant threat of aftershocks.

Simon James PAYTON
Senior Firefighter, New Zealand Fire Service

Citation

On 22 February 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, causing the collapse of the Pyne Gould Corporation building, trapping around 30 people inside. Senior Firefighter Simon Payton initially worked for about two hours up a ladder with a kango hammer to create access holes into the building. Payton then moved to the rear of the building where he joined three other firefighters tunnelling to reach two women trapped beneath a balcony overhang. The firefighters had to break through layers of concrete with hand tools and grinders before tunnelling through office equipment, furniture and debris to reach trapped victims. The tunnel they created between the collapsed floors ranged from 30 to 70 centimetres high and did not allow for protective gear to be worn. One woman was located around five metres inside the tunnel. Payton moved into a void beside the woman to reassure her as another firefighter worked on clearing an access hole. The woman was eventually extricated with crushed toes. The team then located a second woman pinned to her chair by a concrete beam. The legs were cut from her chair allowing her to be rescued. After approximately four hours, Payton’s team was relieved by a second tunnelling team. Simon Payton’s rescue efforts were carried out in unstable and confined conditions under the constant threat of aftershocks.