SURROUNDED by rising floodwaters, the mother of six-month-old Grace had two choices - risk death or hand her child to a stranger to be winched up to a helicopter.
That stranger was Queensland fireman Brad Hindmarsh.
"I called the mother aside and I explained to her that I'm going to have to ask you to let go of your baby," he told AAP.
"I told her that this is the only way I'm going to be able get you and your baby out.
"I said, 'You need to trust me.'"
For his act of courage, Mr Hindmarsh is one of 70 people and 15 groups chosen to receive an Australian Bravery Award on Monday.
On the morning of January 11, 2011, Mr Hindmarsh joined a crew on board a Black Hawk chopper to search flood-devastated Grantham, west of Brisbane, during one of the worst disasters to hit the state.
He was exhausted after spending the night fighting torrents and wading through mud, helping dozens of people from their inundated homes.
As the helicopter flew across the mass of water that covered the landscape, the crew spotted a man waving desperately from his back porch.
Despite having no training, Mr Hindmarsh volunteered to be lowered from the helicopter as it hovered above the man's home.
Inside he found a family of five - six-month-old Grace, her parents and her maternal grandparents.
They were scared and up to their knees in water.
Mr Hindmarsh gave each of the adults a life jacket in case he wasn't able to save them in time.
He then made an improvised harness for Grace using tape and attached it to himself.
"The last thing I wanted to happen was to lose the baby in an attempt to rescue her," the father of two said.
"Then I said to the mother, 'Okay, you need to let go now.'
"The look in her eyes as she looked into my eyes was 'you look after my baby'."
Mr Hindmarsh delivered Grace, screaming but unhurt, to the helicopter, before being lowered four more times to save the rest of her family.
"The look in her mother's eyes [when she was reunited with Grace] was heartwarming," he said.
"I love my job, but that told me why I was put here."
"I don't think I'm anything special, every firefighter has done exactly what I've done and they risk their lives every day."
Mr Hindmarsh says he has drawn on the experience to give him a boost when faced with devastating situations in his job.
Governor-General Quentin Bryce says recipients of the Australian Bravery Decorations demonstrated the most noble human trait - to put another life ahead of their own.
She says many of the awards went to those who demonstrated courage and determination during the Queensland floods in December 2010 and 2011.
"The strength of human nature shone through the chaos and tragedy," she told AAP.
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