Nelson Officer's life saving actions praised

A Nelson Bays Police Officer is being hailed a hero after putting his own safety at risk to save the life of another man on Thursday night.

The officer was called to an incident in which he was required to extricate a man from a running vehicle inside a locked garage about 11pm yesterday.

Nelson Bays Area Commander Inspector Steve Greally said the Officer had to break a window to enter the building, extricate the man from the vehicle and then open a door which had been pinned shut before dragging the man to safety.

"The place was full of carbon monoxide and he had to take gasps of fresh air from the broken window during the rescue attempt," Inspector Greally said.

The officer was affected by the carbon monoxide and required treatment at Nelson Hospital. He is now convalescing at home.

"He's risked his own life to rescue another person and thankfully his efforts have been successful.

"While this was a dangerous situation, the Officer had the presence of mind to call for assistance from fire and ambulance services before to entering the building and they were on hand to give both the officer and the victim assistance once he got the man out of the building.

"I'm extremely proud of the way our Officer has done what was required of him. His actions have clearly saved the life of another man," Inspector Greally said.

The victim is in Nelson Hospital and expected to make a full recovery.