In The Line Of Duty

Australia’s first responders occupy the frontline in emergencies, including crime, fire, accident and even terrorism. And in spite of their courage, their jobs often come at an enormous personal cost.

- Michael Sheather

The jarring, hostile sounds of a man and woman arguing attracted Stephanie Bochorsky’s attention. Dressed in her pyjamas and settling in for a night in front of the television in her Perth home, the off-duty Western Australian police constable immediately leapt from her chair and went to her front door to see what the trouble was.

“The front door to the house across the street was open,” recalls Stephanie, 32. “I could see a man in his underpants walking back and forward and heard his wife saying, ‘No, you don’t have to do that. Don’t be silly.’ He was yelling that somebody was out to get him but it wasn’t out of control. I turned and went back inside. But I was ready if I needed to intervene.”

Stephanie’s readiness saved lives that night and changed her own life forever. The argument across the road suddenly escalated. “The woman began screaming. It was high-pitched, a blood-curdling scream, something I can’t really describe but it chilled me to my bones,” says Stephanie. “But I knew it was real. It wasn’t a pretence.”

Stephanie raced from her front door. The man had disappeared. The woman, dressed in a pink dressing gown, stood alone on the footpath, silhouetted in the light streaming from her front door.

“The woman was pointing inside the house, saying: ‘He’s setting my kids on fire,’” says Stephanie. “I ran inside and as I ran, I told her to call the police. I don’t know what made me do it. I still wonder about that – all I knew was that there was something desperately wrong.”

Stephanie barged through the front door, checking each room as she went down the hallway for the man she’d seen earlier. Then she saw a warm, guttering glow – like the flame from a flickering candle – coming from a bedroom doorway.