By Anna Leask   February 23, 2012

Hero isn’t a word Murray Straight likes.

But after rescuing 15 people trapped in a building after last year’s deadly Christchurch earthquake, many would say that’s exactly what he is.
Mr Straight and Ashburton couple Ashburton couple Trevor and Jane Hurley were among 140 people and organisations who yesterday received Christchurch earthquake awards.
The awards were made to people who had been nominated for recognition because of their acts of kindness, service and heroism during or following the September 4, 2010 and February 22, 2011 earthquakes.
Mr Straight grew up in Methven where his parents owned the local butchery and he attended Methven High School. Now living in Christchurch with his wife Aileen, he still has links to his home town, with his sister and brother-in-law, Irene and Phillip Duff living in Methven.
On that fateful day last year, Mr Straight was in Cashel Street having coffee with a colleague when he heard the quake coming.
They raced outside and after the shaking stopped, saw that a brick wall had crashed through the roof of a nearby building.
“I could see five or six people standing around in a huddle, I knew something had happened and later found out a man had been killed. I thought there was enough of them there, so I looked around to see if there were any other people that needed help.
“I looked directly above me and I could see a lady looking at me from a broken window.’’
Mr Straight told the woman to hang on, that he would help her. He ran from shop to shop until he found a ladder and climbed up to help her to safety.
“When I got her out she said ‘there’s another 14 people in there’.’’
All he could see behind the woman was rubble. And then he heard banging behind a wall.
“I moved the ladder, climbed up and walked along a ledge. Then I saw all these faces looking out through a plate glass window.
“My next job was to try and break that window.’’
Mr Straight got a loose brick and threw it at the glass. The brick bounced off, not leaving a mark, and landed 20 feet away.
He scrambled to find tools, and using a knife from a nearby cafe, managed to removed the rubber seal from the outside of the window. The knife broke as he tried to pry out the aluminium seal, so it was back to the brick.
Eventually, with the seal loosened, the brick broke through and his colleague passed up a chair which he used to smash through the rest of the glass.
“I helped the people down and then went with them to the Square. I’ve caught up with them a few times since, which has been nice.’’
Mr Straight said he was not a hero, he was just fortunate he reacted in a practical way. “I’m very comfortable with what I’ve done. But the word hero is a bit overused. I’m just one of those people who helps people. I’m proud of what I did, but there were a lot more people that were involved.’’
Following last year’s quake, Jane and Trevor Hurley established Trev’s Barbecue, a mobile food, grocery and clothing service that took donations from Ashburton to Christchurch’s worst hit suburbs for nine months after the quake.
The couple masterminded the service, that started on February 23 and involved 4000 hours of volunteer time over 46 trips into the city. During that time they gave away thousands of dollars of donated food, clothing and household items. As well, more than $25,000 in cash was given by the Ashburton community.
While the Hurleys co-ordinated Trev’s Barbecue, and spent many hours working in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs, the service also used hundreds of volunteers who ensured it could continue to run as long as there was a need.
• Full list of heroes P2