Shortly after 1 pm July 26, 2023, firefighters from the North Glengarry Fire Department’s Station 1 raced to save the life of David Chetrit, who was on a training flight with his instructor when their plane crashed into a farmer’s field just outside of Alexandria.
According to the firefighters, the plane had dug its propeller almost eight inches into the ground when the Cessna nosedived into the field near the Alexandria aerodrome on Power Dam Road. The plane then bounced back and split, almost folding in half. The Station 1 crew found the instructor had succumbed to his injuries from the accident, but Chetrit was still alive. He was struggling to breathe; his trachea was severed and he had numerous broken bones.
Within four minutes, the firefighters had him intubated, extricated from the plane and transferred to a waiting ambulance. Being in the middle of a farm field did not make their progress easy, with divots and ruts impeding the stretcher. He was transferred to Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital, then airlifted to the Ottawa Civic where he spent a month and a half recovering. He was then transferred home to Israel to continue his recovery, only to be in hospital when Hamas launched its attack October 7.
Chetrit and his girlfriend, Emily Kaplan, visited the Alexandria fire hall December 3 to express their gratitude to the firefighters who saved him. They said that the words “Thank you” were insufficient.
Both feel the words of Jewish scripture capture their appreciation for everything the firefighters of Station 1 did. “Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.” (Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a).
Chief Matthew Roy was understandably pleased with the joint actions of his firefighters, other first responders and the medical staff who brought Chetrit through his long recovery.
Each firefighter who attended the accident was awarded the Fire Chief’s Citation acknowledging “their combined efforts and performance of their duty in the tradition of North Glengarry Fire Department.”
Those honored were District Chief Denis Lalonde, District Chief Jonathan Hamelin, Captain Jean Theoret, Captain Chris Decoste, Firefighters Jacques Quenneville, Chad MacDonald (retired), Chad Chabot, Joey Lacasse, Taylor Giesbrecht, Randall Mohammed, Kyle Lalonde and Sara Hay.