Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: March 25, 1998
• Invested on: September 18, 1998

Edward Joseph Anthony, M.B.
Thomas Sylvester McCarthy, M.B.
Patrick Joseph Phillips, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On February 1, 1997, Edward Anthony, Thomas McCarthy and Patrick Phillips pulled a man from a burning house in Colliers, Newfoundland. Mr. Phillips was driving by when he noticed flames coming from the house. He immediately summoned help from Mr. McCarthy --the victim's neighbour and brother-- and both men raced to the back of the house and kicked the door open. A wall of thick, black smoke blocked their path so they ran around to the front and smashed the door window with a shovel. Meanwhile, Mr. Anthony had also been alerted to the fire and had attempted to crawl inside the rear entrance, but he too had been forced to retreat. The three men tried several times to crawl inside but were driven back each time by the intense heat and choking smoke. Undeterred, Mr. McCarthy then ran home to get wet towels while Messrs. Anthony and Phillips shovelled snow into the house to extinguish the flames. With debris falling from the ceiling, Mr. Phillips secured the front door with his body and Messrs. McCarthy and Anthony crawled inside to search for the victim. Mr. McCarthy located his badly-burned brother on the dining room floor and called to Mr. Anthony who helped drag him outside. Sadly, the victim did not survive.