GRANT Pomeroy was making his morning coffee on Father's Day three years ago when his world went "kaboom".
The long-time Gwandalan resident first saw the thick smoke and the wall of flames coming from a driveway two houses down, before noticing a man lying next to the wreck of a burning car.
Without knowing what had caused the freak explosion, he and neighbour Craig Brahe bravely leapt into action.
"He was in a bad way and we had to get him away from the car," Mr Pomeroy told the Newcastle Herald.
The man, Alan Bull, sadly died from the serious injuries he suffered on September 6, 2020.
As Mr Pomeroy tried to drag Mr Bull as far from the burning car as possible, off-duty paramedic and former military man Matt Wilson was a couple of streets away, grabbing a pair of thongs and a first aid kit.
"I remember yelling at my wife 'that was a bomb'," he said.
The two neighbours hadn't been able to move Mr Bull very far from the car, which was engulfed in flames, and Mr Pomeroy went to get a garden hose while Mr Wilson started tending to his injuries.
Mr Wilson yelled at Mr Pomeroy to stop trying to douse the raging fire.
"I used a few choice words to say 'put the hose on us to try and keep us cool', because by that stage I already had some minor burns," Mr Wilson said.
He tried to save Mr Bull's life while Mr Pomeroy hosed them both.
"With no experience and no training, to jump in and put his own life on the line to try and help somebody in need, I can't thank him enough," Mr Wilson said.
The pair reunited for the first time this week, just days after the third anniversary of the explosion.
Mr Wilson credits Mr Pomeroy with helping save him from suffering serious burns.
The pair later found out from firefighters that a second gas bottle had been next to the car, but had not exploded.
"They can't explain why it didn't explode," Mr Wilson said.
"The fact that we're actually standing here is probably a miracle."
Mr Pomeroy and Mr Wilson said some other bystanders were unwilling to step in and help due to the danger.
Mr Wilson said it felt like "an eternity" before emergency services flocked to the quiet lakeside street and set up an exclusion zone.
Mr Pomeroy said the tragedy had stuck with him.
"The thing that got me was his daughter was coming up from Sydney and she was up the end of the road actually, when they blocked it off," he said.
"She knew something was up at her dad's place but she didn't know what was going on.
"That's the sad part about it, she'd come up for Father's Day."
The explosion was heard as far away as Wyee and Murrays Beach, sparked a huge emergency response, and damaged cars and houses around it.
"It's something I definitely don't want to see again," Mr Pomeroy said.
He was honoured for his bravery as a civilian on Ambulance Appreciation Day on Friday.
His nominator, paramedic Doug Stewart, said Mr Pomeroy hadn't hesitated in the risky situation.
"It was a really brave thing he did, to put himself in danger to go and help someone else," he said.
He said it meant Mr Bull had someone trying to help him in his final moments.
