Richard Gillette, M.B.
Gilbert John, M.B.
Medal of Bravery
On July 19, 1999, Richard Gillette and Gilbert John rescued a man and his seven-year-old son from a burning house on the Kyuquot First Nation Reserve, British Columbia. Alerted to their neighbour's house-fire by Mr. John's calls for help, Mr. Gillette raced to the scene. Hearing noise from upstairs, he climbed a ladder to the second-storey window and, through thick black smoke, followed the sound of the boy's rasping breath. He found the unconscious victim on a bed, brought him to the window and handed him to another villager who carried him down the ladder. Mr. Gillette was then joined by Mr. John and together they searched for the boy's parents. They located the father but, with all escape routes blocked and the flames closing in on them, they barely had time to drag him to the window and push his motionless body down the ladder before narrowly escaping the inferno. While the man and the child quickly recovered, the woman regrettably perished in the blaze.