Star of Courage

• Awarded on: April 21, 1987
• Invested on: June 26, 1987

On June 13, 1984, Frank Glen Naegele, Joseph Gordon Arcand, Michael Ralph Craftchick, Richard Dickie and William Slater risked their lives, withstanding severe burns, to rescue the victim of a head-on collision between a pick-up truck and a propane tanker which took place near Salmon Arm, British Columbia. The driver was flung from the propane tanker on impact. The tanker rolled down an embankment, sending large columns of black smoke and flames shooting through the air. Messrs. Naegele, Arcand, Craftchick, Dickie and Slater, all unknown to each other, rushed to the pick-up truck straddling the centre of the Trans-Canada Highway inside which a severely-injured couple was trapped. Despite the risk of a major explosion, they undertook the long and arduous process of extricating the couple from the wreckage. Moments after they freed the second victim, thousands of litres of liquid propane exploded, turning the entire area in an enormous fireball. The explosion severely burned 23 people.

Joseph Gordon Elwood Arcand, Michael Ralph Craftchick, Richard Dickie and William Slater were also awarded the Star of Courage for their rescue efforts.