Medal of Bravery
Awarded on: 1996-12-18
Invested on: 1997-06-16
On March 17, 1996, James Brown rescued his family from their burning home in Nairn Centre, Ontario. Alerted by his dog, Mr. Brown awoke to find the house on fire. His wife grabbed their 3- year-old son and he ran downstairs, snatched their baby from his crib and covered him with a blanket. Each carrying a child, the couple rushed to the front door, but when it was opened, the oxygen-fed fire shot up the stairs behind them, knocking the woman to the floor. Mr. Brown ran outside and placed the baby on a snowbank. He raced back to see his disoriented wife desperately trying to find their other child who had been separated from her by the blast. After dragging her to safety, Mr. Brown entered the smoke-filled house a third time and followed the sound of his son's screams until he found him under a chair. Shielding his child under his own body, Mr. Brown crawled towards the exit and crashed through the screen door to escape.