Feats of bravery and the faces behind the lights and sirens were brought to the fore Thursday night at an annual event celebrating paramedics, firefighters and caring community members.
Bars were handed out for years of service — as many as 50, in the case of volunteer firefighter Claude Daoust — along with medals for exemplary work and a number of peer-nominated awards for outstanding efforts.
“Emergency response is often defined by statistics — data, call volumes, saves, fire stats, KPIs (key performance indicators),” said Joseph Nicholls, chief of Fire and Paramedic Services, at the Community Safety Recognition Night. “But there is so much more behind the numbers.”
Nicholls pointed to 10 paramedics who received stork pins for facilitating a birth before the mom got to hospital, including a team that “delivered a baby by the side of the road.”
And he celebrated another team — including fire captain Jim Bergeron and paramedics Brenda Barrett, Benoit Gosselin and Jordan Raciborski — who resuscitated a Sudbury man who had a heart attack last year.
Gilles Moreau, 65, had no vital signs when the group arrived, but was able to “thank the paramedics and firefighters who successfully brought him back,” said Nicholls, through a new program that allows cardiac survivors to meet with their saints.
Nicholls said there were several significant events in 2023 that required all hands on deck, including the May fire at the Coulson Hotel, during which firefighters were able to “rescue several people and pets,” including a husky-shepherd named Stark who was carried down via a ladder.
The city’s first responders have their own “facility dog,” named Neely, who was on hand Thursday with principal handler Lyndsay Fearnley-Ungar, clad in the vivid red vest that identifies her as a service animal. The sweet-tempered lab helps members de-stress after calls that can often feel harrowing.
Trevor Lindsay, who recently took on the role of Neely keeper No. 2, was bestowed the Paramedic Services Award on Thursday. A veteran of more than 20 years in the ambulance world, Lindsay is “a voice of reason, a shoulder to lean on, and leads through example, often taking on additional tasks and lightening the load for others,” said emcee Gord Nicholls.
The Citizen Valour Award, recognizing a member of the public who jumps in during a crisis, went to Lindon Shanks for his efforts in saving a man from drowning on Long Lake in the fall of 2023.
Shanks spied a man from the window of his home, near Moxam’s Landing, who got ejected from a jet ski and was floundering as the machine circled him. The resident promptly jumped in his aluminum boat and headed out to help.
“By the time he made it to the man, Lindon said he was so short of breath he could barely talk,” said Nicholls. The man’s lifejacket had also become tangled up so that he was dragging the jet ski behind him, creating a highly dangerous scenario, but Shanks was able to free him and haul him into his boat.
“His quick thinking, calm demeanour and willingness to help his fellow citizen saved a life that day,” said the emcee.
The award for volunteer firefighter went to Capt. Robert Coupal, while career firefighter Lucas Andretta earned the Dennis Pietrobon Memorial Award for his “calm, decisive leadership in times of adversity,” as well as service to the community through charitable works.
Paramedic Gaetan Lagrandeur was presented with the Leonce Seguin Memorial Award, which goes to a member who has shown “commitment to growth in their knowledge base and adherence to pre-hospital care.”
Four individuals were given Chief’s Recognition Awards: Roger Frappier and Mark Unger, with paramedic services; and Rick Landry and Patrick Villeneuve, with fire services.
The night also acknowledged city workers who might not climb aboard an ambulance or fire truck but have contributed in other important ways to community safety, often working in tandem with first responders.
The Community Partnership Award was given to a group of client navigators, who help homeless and displaced people access services and housing.
They represent “a strong and dependable partner, providing support for vulnerable people,” said Nicholls. “Over the last few years, that support has been pivotal for those who have experienced personal disaster, often during large-scale emergencies, like the Coulson Hotel fire.”
More than 40 people were assisted in that crisis, along with three dogs and four cats, “with more than 25 of those people needing long-term support in the weeks and months that followed,” said the emcee.
Chief Nicholls said the past few years have been busy ones for both firefighters and paramedics, and the nature of the calls more varied and complicated, which makes partnering with other city services and community groups all the more important.
“Increases in social, health and mental-health challenges, homelessness and opioid use are all factors that require new, innovative approaches to care,” he said. “This highlights more than ever the need for collaboration between Fire and Paramedic Services and our colleagues in police services, emergency management and our emergency communicators.”