Constable Brian David Beresh, M.B.
Corporal Patrick Aloysius Kevin McBride, M.B.
Medal of Bravery
In the late morning of 16 March 1982, Cpl. Patrick McBride and Cst. Brian Beresh of the Matsqui Police Service, in British Columbia, rescued a woman from a house fire. Cst. Beresh responded first to a fire call and found the house locked and full of smoke; Cpl. McBride arrived soon after. Determined to check for inhabitants, the latter forced open the front door. A search of the upper floor, filling quickly with acrid smoke, turned up no one and the policemen proceeded downstairs, where breathing was almost impossible. Returning to the garage area for fresh air they heard moaning from the basement, eventually locating the woman, immobile from a fall. With difficulty they carried her upstairs and outside where she was taken to hospital.