Medal of Bravery
Awarded on: 1987-06-15
Invested on: 1987-09-25
Bernard Robin Busk, M.B.
Laurie Arthur Devey, M.B.
Kim Benjamin Rempel, M.B.
Medal of Bravery
On the evening of December 13, 1985, approximately 5km west of Hardisty, Alberta, a half-ton truck was involved in a collision with a tanker which contained 50, 000 litres of butane gas. The road was icy and the tanker went into the ditch, hitting an approach and rolling on its side. The tractor of the tanker unit caught fire while the driver was still trapped in the cab. Two men, Robin Busk and Laurie Devey, in a one-ton winch truck, and another man, Kim Rempel, who heard the accident and saw the fire ball from his nearby home, were the first at the scene of the accident. These three men, fully aware of an imminent explosion, hooked the winch on to the steering column of the burning tractor and pulled the steering column loose allowing them to pull the driver to safety. The injured man was taken to the hospital.