Firemen awarded for bravery after saving woman in dramatic five-hour rescue

Two firemen have been recognised for their bravery after saving a woman in a dramatic five-hour rescue in Lower Hutt last year.

Senior firefighters Daniel Olliver and Scott Duganzich were presented with citations for their bravery at Avalon fire station this morning.

The pair were involved in the rescue of a woman in her 20s in September 2017. She had fallen feet first seven metres down a cliff face in Percy's Reserve, while jogging with her boyfriend in the early evening.

Olliver and Duganzich were part of the first crew to arrive at the reserve and discovered the woman 20m above the base of the cliff. Her fall had been broken by a tree stump.

Olliver used line equipment to harness himself down and secure himself to her. He said the terrain was "scraggly, rocky with a few trees around and near-vertical".

Meanwhile, Duganzich free-climbed the cliff face from the side to support the two from below.

"She was screaming she couldn't hold on any longer."

They were suspended on the cliff face for hours as a helicopter attempted to winch the woman. The rescue took a turn for the worse when the helicopter's rotor wash caused trees and debris to fall on top of them.

Dunganzich said they had to duck for cover and try to protect the patient as rocks began to fall.

Olliver and the woman were both hit in the head by rocks, causing their helmets to break.

"It was one of the scariest moments of my life to be honest. It was lucky I was wearing my helmet because it saved my life."

He said they tried to call mayday to the helicopter, whose crew eventually abandoned attempts to winch the woman.

Olliver sustained concussion while the woman was "virtually unconscious" from the rock fall.

Another line crew from Porirua arrived and assisted to lower the woman to the bottom of the cliff. She was winched out to Wellington Hospital by helicopter with serious injuries.

The whole rescue took about five hours.

The woman has since moved to Perth and sent a letter for the citation ceremony to show her appreciation for the work that was done.

Duganzich said it was proud moment to get recognised for what was one of the most challenging rescues of his career.

The pair were acknowledged for their "prompt and credible" lifesaving decision to deploy the line kit from the top of the cliff down to the woman.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand chairman Paul Swain said it was an exceptional piece of work.

"This is rare. In the time I've been chairman, which has been a couple of years, this is the second citation like this. These events are extraordinarily rare and are worth taking seriously."