Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: December 16, 2004
• Invested on: June 24, 2005

Michael Robert Brook, M.B.
Garth Doege, M.B.
Eric Pittman, M.B.
David Saunders, M.B.
Dirk Tolman, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On June 13, 2004, these five men combined their efforts to pull a family of four from a burning truck on the Trans-Canada Highway, near Shawnigan Lake, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The victims' vehicle had been rear-ended by a pick-up truck and had burst into flames before rolling backwards into a ditch, igniting nearby trees. First at the scene, the rescuers smashed windows and crawled inside the twisted wreck. Suffering from burns and smoke inhalation, the group was driven away several times by the spreading flames that engulfed the back end of the truck. Undeterred, the men persevered until they had managed to free the couple and their two daughters from the blaze. Although the parents and the toddler recovered, the nine-year-old girl later succumbed to her injuries.