A JERSEYMAN who used his scuba diving gear to save his neighbour from a burning building has been awarded a prestigious medal for heroism.

Bruno Mézec, who now lives in Germany and is the son of Georgette Mézec from St Helier, was awarded the Carnegie Medal in Gold at a special ceremony on 11 October for saving Peter Naumann from his burning apartment in Elsterwerda, Germany, on 6 February last year.

It is the first time that the medal has been awarded to a resident of one of the new federal states of Germany and Mr Mézec is the first person in Germany to be given the award while still alive. The medal recognises people across the world who have risked their own lives saving or trying to save someone else’s and is awarded by divisions of the Carnegie Hero Fund, founded by Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

When Mr Mézec realised that his neighbour’s apartment was on fire and the owner still inside, he put on his scuba diving equipment and used his training as a rescue diver to work his way to Mr Naumann.
‘The fire brigade were not on the scene at that time and desperate to help in some way I donned my diving outfit and entered the burning building,’ he said.

‘Working according to principles I had learned as a rescue diver, I decided to crawl backwards on all fours along the corridor to the victim. I had to feel my way to him and I found him lying on his back about nine metres from the door. I dragged him out and, helped by my wife, we gave him pure oxygen until the ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later.’

Mr Naumann had third degree burns on 25 per cent of his body and was in a coma for nine days but has now made a full recovery and was present at the award ceremony. Mr Mézec said that he was very honoured to receive the medal but didn’t want people to forget that he was only one link in the chain that saved Mr Naumann’s life.

‘In Germany we refer to the rescue chain. I was just the first link in that chain and we shouldn’t forget the other links like emergency doctors, ambulance drivers and the helicopter pilot for whom saving lives is just part of the job. They are the unsung heroes,’ he said.

And being a hero has also helped Mr Mézec overcome his fear of flying after his wife told him that anyone who can save someone from a burning building can fly in a plane.
‘She was right and I immediately booked a flight to Lanzarote,’ he said.