Tam Brown - Mr. Incredible

Oliver Sansweet's Lawyer; "Mr. Sansweet didn't asked to be saved. Mr. Sansweet didn't want to be saved. And the injuries received from Mr. Incredible's "actions," so-called, causes him daily pain."
Mr. Incredible; "Hey. I saved your life."
Oliver Sansweet; "You didn't save my life. You ruined my death"

A scene from The Incredibles, one of Hollywood's finest films.

And a true story from the UK last week,

A fireman is facing disciplinary action after plunging into a river to rescue a drowning woman, reports The Times.

Tam Brown, 42, is the subject of an internal investigation by Tayside Fire and Rescue because he breached safety rules during the rescue in the River Tay in Perth.

Having risked his life dragging a 20 year-old woman to safety in freezing water, he was told by his employer that he had acted improperly by risking his life. Mr Brown, who has 15 years’ experience as a fireman, was hailed as a hero by the young woman’s family but Tayside Fire and Rescue said that he had broken the brigade’s “standing instructions” on safety procedures. Said Brown,

“I was expected to watch that young girl die in front of me. As a father and a caring human being, I couldn’t live with myself if I’d had to do that.”

The woman is believed to have jumped into the river on March 6 as a cry for help. A member of the public called 999 and she was thrown a rope, but she was in danger of being sucked under by the current.

“We had seconds to act. The girl was losing consciousness. We had one harness, so I put that on and went down 20ft on a safety line, grabbed her and held her out of the water. My colleagues tried to pull us towards steps, but the current was so bad and the rope was pulled so hard it snapped. My own life hung in the balance as I swam for the steps with her in my arms. But we got there and were pulled out. I was in the water for eight minutes and it was heart-stoppingly cold, but we saved her.”

Having admitted that the fire engines in Perth were not equipped with the correct ropes and poles, Stephen Hunter Chief Fire Officer of the Tayside Fire & Rescue said, without a trace of irony,

“Personnel should not enter the water. The fire crew should instead have tried to haul the woman out using poles and ropes. Firefighter safety is of paramount importance to us. Although our duties include rescues from flooding, there is no statutory obligation to carry out rescues from moving water. We know they broke procedure because we know he went into the water. We are investigating exactly what happened, and once that is concluded we will consider what action is necessary. That could include disciplinary action.”

Translation - he should have let the bitch die.

You can write to this self-righteous little prick at stephen.hunter@taysidefire.gov.uk or call him on +44 (0)1382 322222

Words utterly fail.