Firefighter looked shark in the eye before it bit off his leg

A West Australian firefighter who escaped a shark after it severed his leg has recalled the moment he looked the apex predator in the eye.

Mel Ismail had been surfing at Glenfield Beach near Geraldton, about 400 kilometres north of Perth, on the morning of September 14 when the shark attacked.

Speaking for the first time since the incident, Mr Ismail recalls sitting out the back of the surf break and spotting a pod of about 20 dolphins before being hit by something big.

"I thought I got hit by a dolphin, initially," he said.

"And suddenly, bang — something grabbed me and dragged me down into the water. And I knew it was a shark."

Hauled underwater by the predator, he eventually came face to face with it.

"I got to a point where I saw its eye … a big black eye," Mr Ismail said.

"But it's winking back at me — I was trying to get my fingers in its eye and just pushing its eye as I was being dragged.

"I personally reckon it gave me the wink, and then shut my leg off, and I knew it had taken my leg."

With his leg severed below the knee, Mr Ismail made it back to the surface.

Instinctively, he tried to pull his board by his leg rope, but nothing happened.

"It was just a numbness, a sensation like, 'Hey, something's missing,'" he said.

"I saw my board floating around, a heap of blood. I thought, 'He's coming back for more; I need to get out of here.'"

Alone and bleeding at the back of the break, Mr Ismail caught a wave that took him about 20 metres closer to shore.

Fellow surfer to the rescue

Surrounded by blood and still a fair way from shore, Mr Ismail said he was out of breath and losing strength when he spotted someone coming down the dunes on the beach.

"So I just tried to remain calm and just to float in a bit," he said.

"I did say to myself, 'You've got to suck this up. You can do this. I want to see my family.'"

The man on the dunes was Shannan Dunn, who saw Mr Ismail's signal and immediately raced into the water.

"He had eyes like saucers," Mr Ismail said.

"The first thing he said to me is, 'Where's the shark?'

"I said 'I don't know, I've got a bit going on here.'

"Then he chucked me on his board."

Beachside help

After the pair made it back to shore, Mr Dunn dragged Mr Ismail up the beach, where a couple, who asked to be identified as Chrissy and Rick, rushed to assist.

Chrissy called Triple Zero (000) while Rick crafted a tourniquet using a leg rope. A pair of shocked teenagers helped him into Mr Dunn's four-wheel drive.

The vehicle became airborne at times as it sped down the beach to meet the ambulance.

"They said, 'It's going to be a rough ride, mate', so I just held onto one of the bars," Mr Ismail said.

"I had a heap of people laughing, keeping me alive, keeping me positive in the back."

The sight of the ambulance, crewed by paramedics he had worked with for years, was an enormous relief.

"I gave a few knuckles to the people there, because I was feeling good," Mr Ismail said.

"I started to feel like I [was] going to make it."

The fisheries department is continuing to investigate the incident, but the species of shark is yet to be identified.

Partner's rush to ED

Mr Ismail's partner Kylie Fleay was working her first solo shift on the switchboard at Geraldton Hospital when she heard there had been a shark attack at Glenfield.

Her boss confirmed it was Mr Ismail.

"I basically ran down to the ED," she said.

"We were allowed to go in and see Mel. He was grey — grey and sandy."

Ms Fleay was stunned when surgeons mentioned the loss of his leg.

"I thought, you know, shark attack, it's just had a little nibble of him," she said.

"It really hit home and I just had to basically hold myself up.

But Mr Ismail remained in high spirits, even after his leg was amputated just below the knee.

"First thing he says, he goes, 'I'm going to have to be a bodyboarder now,'" she said.

"He's amazing. I'm in awe of him."

The couple says they are overwhelmed by the support they have received from the Geraldton community.

"Every time I hear the story, it just amazes me more what he went through and survived," Ms Fleay said.