Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: February 26, 2002
• Invested on: June 13, 2003

In the early hours of June 24, 1999, nine-year-old Shawn Currie rescued his three-year-old brother from their burning house in Edmonton, Alberta. The boys were sleeping in the living room when Shawn, awakened by the smell of smoke, noticed flames spreading on the ceiling of the kitchen area across the hall. After leaving the house to call for help, he realized that his baby brother was still in the blazing home. Despite his young age, Shawn did not hesitate to run back inside the house, which was now full of thick black smoke. After searching in vain for his brother in the living room, he ran upstairs and followed the little boy's cries to the bedroom where he had taken refuge. Shawn picked him up and, in complete darkness and through choking smoke, carried him down the stairs and outside to safety.