Stunning footage has documented the heroic rescue by police officers of an elderly couple, including one in a wheelchair, alongside their grandson from a fire that consumed their Gold Coast home.
Officers were conducting routine patrols when they saw smoke billowing from Golden Four Drive in Tugun about 12.40am on Sunday.
When they got closer, they noticed a fire on the balcony of an upstairs unit.
Her 76-year-old husband, Ian, and their 14-year-old grandson also escaped safely.
It was a startling way to kick off Ian’s birthday.
“Half past one, we’re out there, and I said, ‘by the way, happy birthday, darling,'” Maskelyne said.
“He says, ‘I’m not gonna forget this one, am I?”
The officers were seen using small fire extinguishers to try to calm down the fire while they waited for firefighters to arrive.
“It’s too big for fire extinguishers now. We’ve used three,” one officer could be heard saying.
Firefighters contained the fire to the kitchen and extinguished it. Many of the couple’s belongings have been saved.
The fire is not being treated as suspicious and is believed to have been caused by electrical equipment.
Paramedics were also called to the scene and assessed the officers, couple and their grandson for smoke inhalation.
No one was seriously injured.
