By Mikayla van Loon
When three-year-old Elliott Pawley got his fingers stuck in a seat at Upwey train station, dad Heath was quick to respond by calling the CFA.
Being able to reunite young Elliot with his four CFA heroes on Friday 27 May, both Heath and his son were incredibly grateful for the quick response and help given in a fairly traumatising situation.
Catching the train home to Boronia from childcare around 5pm on Monday 23 May, Heath said there weren’t too many people at the platform, so when panic set in the easiest thing to do was call for assistance.
“I just went straight for the Fireman Sam move, the catch all call to the CFA. When I was on the phone he was a little bit distressed but what was really nice, because up here if there’s anything that happens with the CFA the siren goes off,” he said.
“So we heard that straightaway and it was great because that was almost instantaneous and we were able to say Fireman Sam’s coming to help us, he’s coming to save the day.
“Elliot stopped crying and was just waiting and looking, he heard the siren and then we got all the cavalry down here with the CFA.”
Heath said in total it took about eight minutes for the CFA crew to respond and release Elliot’s fingers from the seat.
Upwey CFA captain Cliff Pancutt said no matter what size job, big or small, the CFA will be there to help in whatever way they can.
“It’s not the first job we’ve actually been called to here at the railway station and unfortunately, little tykes do get their hands into places where we as parents wouldn’t like them to but it’s all part of bringing up kids I suppose,” he said.
“So it’s not the first time and it probably won’t be the last time but again everyone at the brigade is happy to come out and help.”
Separating the seat slats with a crowbar, the CFA members were able to easily remove Elliot’s fingers as quickly as possible knowing the longer it took the more traumatised and distressed he would become.
Dad was able to cheer Elliot up afterwards with a dash to the supermarket for a chocolate frog.
Reuniting with Elliot, Captain Pancutt and his fellow members gifted the three-year-old a plastic CFA helmet and some Freddo frogs, a very exciting treat.
Having had a tree fall on their house, damaging Elliot’s bedroom, last June during the storms, Heath said that experience has made him even more protective of his son.
“When you’ve had a tree literally fall on your kids bedroom, caving in the roof and you’re pulling them out from the rubble, fingers stuck in a seat is very small but you want to do the best thing for your kid and not muck around or cause an injury,” he said.
The damage to the Pawley’s house in Upwey has meant the family is currently living in Boronia while the roof is repaired, where the novelty of train travel has been a welcomed activity.
“We love catching the train, we try to do it as much as we can. That’s why we bought up here,” Heath said.
Captain Pancutt said he hopes to welcome the Pawley family back to the local community soon, perhaps one day seeing Elliot take up the junior firefighter training program and he was grateful for the thanks he received from Heath.
“It’s always nice to be appreciated for what you do but we don’t sign up and do this for the accolades, it’s just something to give back to the community and be a part of the community.”
Knowing the initial panic that can set in as a parent, Heath said it can be challenging to know what to do but his advice for parents is to call for help.
“It is really hard when you’re a parent to take a minute to relax. You might have tried to pull the fingers out but leave it to the professionals, give them a call. Get the right people down there and take that help from people around as well.”
