A heroic firefighter who helped save six koalas from a raging bushfire says he doesn’t deserve the credit after a photo of the rescued marsupials went viral.
Adelaide woman Janelle Michalowski posted a photo of the koalas huddling together inside the laundry of an elderly couple’s Cudlee Creek home near a bucket of water.
‘Amazing work by a man named Adam and his mates who pulled these guys out of harm’s way at Cudlee Creek and into safety!’ she wrote.
Daily Mail Australia tracked down father-of-two firefighter Adam Mudge, 33, who helped save the koalas from the scrub as flames approached the property.
He brushed off suggestions he was an Australian hero and said the couple who housed the scared koalas were more deserving of the admiration.
Adam Mudge, a member of the South Australian Country Fire Service, was praised online after six koalas were snapped huddled together in a laundry at Cudlee Creek, near Adelaide
Pictured: A koala is seen on the lawn as fire approaches a property near Adelaide
The father-of-two, who has a third child on the way, said his crew was tasked to protect the property about 9.30am on Friday.
‘There was a gully, the fire was coming towards the house. We set up and waited for the fire to come to us,’ Mr Mudge explained.
‘At that time, there were koalas coming out of the scrub.’
Mr Mudge, who is a member of the Country Fire Service in South Australia, said Ms Michalowski encouraged the crew to put the rescued koalas in the laundry.
‘By the time we left, those landowners had eight koalas in their laundry,’ he said.
‘We’re not the ones that should be credited.’
Mr Mudge, who was working in a team of three, said they were simply doing their ‘job’.
‘We were at the heart of where it all began, where the fire first began. We were there trying to prevent any homes being lost,’ he explained.
The 33-year-old firefighter – who helped save the koalas from the scrub as flames approached the property – said the couple who housed the marsupials (pictured) were more deserving of the admiration
Two days before Christmas, the firefighter said he was still on call.
Mr Mudge said the koalas were lucky to escape the flames unscathed.
‘Obviously they were distressed, there didn’t seem to be any injuries as such which is good,’ he said.
‘But yeah they weren’t happy.’
The picture of the koalas was originally shared with the caption: ‘Amazing work by a man named Adam and his mates who pulled these guys out of harm’s way at Cudlee Creek and into safety!’
‘Adam is a firefighter and currently working out in the field, he has made everyone’s day.’
The post was flooded with comments praising the firefighters for their efforts.
‘How beautiful. Well done these are our true heroes,’ one person said.
‘You are amazing. Thank you for saving these little cuties,’ another edited.
But speaking to the praise, Mr Mudge said: ‘We were just there.’
‘We had a job, we saved that house.
‘At the end of the day, they were the ones who took the koalas in, who had to take them to wildlife rescue.
Pictured: The bushfire at Cudlee Creek, near Adelaide, on Friday morning
‘That was at midday [when the crew left], who knows how many koalas they plucked out by the end of the day.’
The 33-year-old said he was simply trying to ‘set the story straight’ and give credit to the landowners, a couple probably aged in their late 50s.
‘These were just a lovely couple, that lived out in the scrub,’ he said.
‘We managed to save most of their assets, so we think they’ll be happy.’
The 33-year-old said he was simply trying to ‘set the story straight’ and give credit to the landowners, a couple probably aged in their late 50s. ‘These were just a lovely couple, that lived out in the scrub,’ he said. ‘We managed to save most of their assets, so we think they’ll be happy.’ Pictured: Friday’s blaze