On October 8, 2014, firefighters manning the station 23 ladder-truck noticed that several people had gathered in the parking lot in front of their station in the Sud-Ouest borough. Intrigued, they drew closer to find out what was happening. Upon arriving at the scene, they saw that a tree trunk had fallen on a citizen’s head. Captain Patrick Bertrand (23-3) immediately contacted the SIM communications centre, issuing an urgent call for first responder reinforcements.

Firefighters quickly took steps to stabilize the citizen, Mr. Guy Tremblay, and ensure that his injuries were not aggravated during the rescue operation. In order to extricate the victim from his trapped position, firefighters made ingenious use of equipment specially designed for extrication maneuvers. In the meantime, colleagues arrived on the scene to help them immobilize the citizen, and traumatology equipment was used to stabilize the victim’s spine.

“The following day, Mr. Tremblay’s family came to see us and to tell us that without our careful maneuvers, Mr. Tremblay would have been rendered quadriplegic. Our ingenuity and teamwork allowed us to avoid a worst case scenario. I would like to thank my colleagues for their professionalism,” said Captain Bertrand.

On January 21, 2015, Mr. Tremblay, now well on the road to recovery, made his way to meet the people who saved his life, accompanied by his wife. The firefighters proceeded to invite them out to dinner.

Congratulations to firefighters Steve Upton (23-3), Claude Maloney (23-2), Serge Potvin (23-3), Réjean Séguin (23-3) and Rémi Tremblay (67-3), and to Lieutenant Pierre Boucher (23-3) and Captain Patrick Bertrand (23-3).

To read more testimonies, visit the section marked Proud of our employees!