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Mr. John Albert Mahon

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Decorations for Bravery

  • Star of Courage

    Awarded on: 1976-10-18
    Invested on: 1977-02-11
    John Mahon saved the life of a two-year-old boy who was trapped during a fire at his home in Halifax on 4 February 1976. The boy's mother heard an explosion and ran upstairs, but dense smoke and heat prevented her from reaching her child. She shouted for help and caught the attention of Mr. Mahon. He raised a ladder to a second-storey window, climbed in and groped his way through the smoke until he found the child in his crib. Mr. Mahon then handed the baby to his mother, but as he prepared to escape he collapsed in the room. Moments later firemen arrived, removed the rescuer and revived him with oxygen.