mmg.com.au

You are driving along the road and suddenly you see a fire spreading in dry grass beside the road and you ask yourself the question: do you keep driving or do you stop and help?

Echuca business owner Andrew’s McMinn and Mooroopna bus driver Alistair Honey each answered the call to help battle a fire at Yambuna on Friday afternoon.

Mr McMinn and Mr Honey were both driving home from work when they passed the fire.

Mr McMinn, who owns Rich River Horizontal Boring, had a tanker with 4500litres of water and hoses on board.

When he saw the fire, he stopped his truck and immediately started to swing into action.

Mr Honey, seeing Mr McMinn setting up, stopped to lend a hand.

Both said it was the right thing to do.

‘‘When you see an opportunity to help out, you do it,’’ Mr McMinn said.

‘‘I had the water on my truck and the equipment to help battle the fire. I just did the right thing.

‘‘I was going home, I was in a bit of a hurry to get home and see my kids, but I could not drive past and do nothing.

‘‘If we had have left the fire then the fire brigade could have been out there for hours trying to control it.’’

‘‘No sooner had I pulled up then Alistair got out of his car. I told him to roll out the hose while I got the pump going.

‘‘I didn’t get the chance to talk to him much, but he was a great bloke, he just got in there and did what he could to help.’’

Mr Honey, a former CFA volunteer, said he could not drive past and watch the paddock burn.

‘‘I was travelling back to Mooroopna after finishing work and I saw the tanker pull up. I did a U-turn and pulled up,’’ he said.

‘‘I was just trying to do the right thing. That is the Aussie way, I saw someone in trouble and just wanted to help out.

‘‘It was a good feeling. You do not do something like that for praise, but it was a good feeling to know that you have helped out.’’

The pair helped to control the fire until CFA crews arrived.

Tongala Fire Brigade captain Dave Wright praised the pair for their actions.

‘‘We were grateful for them,’’ he said.

‘‘They did a great job.’’