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Mr. Charles Lefebvre

Cantley, Quebec

Decorations for Bravery

  • Medal of Bravery

    Awarded on: 2001-01-24
    Invested on: 2001-06-22
    On March 17, 2000, firefighter Charles Lefebvre rescued a man hanging outside a window of his burning fourth-floor apartment in Gatineau, Quebec. Realizing that the ladder could only reach two metres short of the panic-stricken victim, and with no time to secure a lifeline, firefighter Lefebvre and a colleague raced up the stairs and broke down the door. The colleague was able to leave when a flash-over occurred in one area of the apartment, but firefighter Lefebvre continued to crawl toward the window where he had located the victim. With his melting uniform burning his neck and arm, he leaned outside, grabbed the injured man by the wrists and lowered him to firefighters waiting on the ladder. Firefighter Lefebvre then escaped the inferno by climbing onto the outside ledge and making a risky stretch for the ladder, where a colleague guided his steps down to safety.