Medal of Bravery
Awarded on: 2008-02-27
Invested on: 2009-06-19
Sony Anctil, M.B.
Constable Martin Bouchard, M.B.
Constable Geneviève Descôteaux, M.B.
Constable Catherine Simard, M.B.
Medal of Bravery
In the early morning of February 3, 2004, Sony Anctil, then patroller, and constables Martin Bouchard, Geneviève Descôteaux and Catherine Simard risked their lives to evacuate the residents of a burning apartment building in Verdun, Quebec. After banging on all the doors to alert the occupants to the danger, constables Bouchard and Simard made their way to the front exit with great difficulty, but Mr. Anctil and Constable Descôteaux became trapped in the smoke-filled stairwell. Running out of air, they opened a window on the first level, and were prepared to jump from it, when they heard constables Bouchard and Simard yelling to them from the entrance. Following the sound of their colleagues' voices, they were able to exit the building safely.