JOHOR BARU: A fireman dashed forward without a second thought and stretched out his arms to break the fall of a distraught woman who fell from the top floor of a three-storey shophouse here.
The 25-year-old woman had apparently wanted to jump from the building in Taman Pelangi at 8.25am yesterday but 12 firemen from the Larkin fire station had calmed her.
However, after 50 minutes, the woman slipped from the ledge she was perched on and fell, screaming Allahhuakbar! (Allah is great).
Operations commander C. Kesaven dashed forward and broke her fall. She first fell on his head and then into his outstretched arms.
When met, Kesaven was modest about his heroic act, mumbling only: “It’s part of my job (to save people).”
The woman, he said, did not have any serious injuries and had been sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital for further examination.
“She had been renting a room on the third floor of the building. We believe she has marital problems,” he said.
The woman had earlier locked the door to her room, preventing firemen from entering and rescuing her from the ledge.
Firemen outside the building began setting up airbags and implementing other safety measures.
Kesaven said they did not want to break down the door, fearing that the shock and tremor might cause the woman to fall.
“We took every safety precaution. We’re glad that a tragedy was prevented,” he added.
State Fire and Rescue Department director Abd Ghani Daud commended Kesaven for his bravery.
“I am really proud of him and the rest of his men. He risked his own life to rescue the woman,” he said.