Star of Courage

• Awarded on: August 4, 1987
• Invested on: September 25, 1987

Aroused by a fire alarm outside the door if his Burnaby, British Columbia high-rise apartment on the morning of September 2, 1986, Christopher Tonge acted quickly to save the lives of his neighbours. Although at first he could find no signs of fire, when by chance he stepped out of his balcony, Mr. Tonge saw thick, black smoke pouring from the next-door apartment. Exiting into the corridor, he banged on his neighbours' door until at last a woman, woken by his knocking, burst out of the apartment and informed him a man was still inside. Having no fire-fighting training, no backup and despite the danger of a self-closing door, Mr. Tonge immediately dropped to the floor and crawled into the apartment on his stomach. There was zero visibility and the smoke was highly toxic. Mr. Tonge called out several times before finally receiving an answer. He directed the victim to follow the sound of his voice. They met approximately 3 metres from the main door and Mr. Tonge then got behind the victim and pushed him outside.