Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: August 28, 1997
• Invested on: May 15, 1998

Larry O'Grady, M.B.
Patrick O'Grady, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On October 18, 1995, Larry and Patrick O'Grady rescued a severely injured man following the explosion of a fuel storage tank in St. John's, Newfoundland. The O'Grady cousins witnessed the explosion which blew the lid off the top of a 10-meter-high tank and shot a fire ball 20 meters high. They immediately raced towards the screams of a man on fire who had been blown off the top of the tank. Despite the intense heat, they scaled the chain link fence and concrete retaining wall that separated them from the victim and found him lying on the inverted tank top which had landed on the ground near the inferno. The cousins dragged the victim away from the spreading fire then lifted him over the dyke wall where firefighters assisted in carrying him to the paramedics.