Cst. Duane Bateman, Brad Tilley, and Cst. Julianne Toner
On the afternoon of November 5, 2014 a speeding vehicle struck another making a left hand turn across a busy intersection in Edmonton. A total of 5 occupants sustained various degrees of injuries. Brad Tilley, an off duty Edmonton Fire Fighter, stopped his vehicle to help.
One of the vehicles, an SUV, was lying on its roof halfway up a berm. Brad rushed over to the unstable vehicle and noticed gasoline leaking from it. He asked a bystander to get a fire extinguisher from his car, then he crawled into the SUV to turn off the ignition switch to prevent any sparks from igniting the gasoline. The father was lying across the front seat with his head outside the passenger window. Brad noted that the daughter was pinned in the back seat and could not be reached until the father was removed.
Emergency crews, including Cst. Julianne Toner and Cst. Duane Bateman were now on the scene. There was smoke coming from the vehicle and concern that the SUV might catch on fire. Despite gasoline dripping on her, Cst. Toner assisted firefighters by holding the father’s head while he was removed from the vehicle. He was put on a spinal board and taken to hospital. Cst. Bateman came to the aid of the girl in the back seat whose legs were pinned. He noticed she was having trouble breathing due to her back and neck being severely arched. While Brad raised the girl’s arms, Cst. Bateman placed a rolled up blanket under the girl to make her more comfortable. There was gasoline pouring onto her and dripping on both men.
Once the father had been removed from the vehicle they were able to free the daughter, remove her from the vehicle, and she was also taken to hospital.
For removing two people from an extremely dangerous situation the Bronze Medal for Bravery was awarded to Cst. Duane Bateman, Cst. Julianne Toner, and Brad Tilley.
Constables Nathan Sharuga, Norm Wong, Ethan Watts, Brandon Myhre, and Timothy Moeller
On October 24, 2014, just after midnight, Constables Wong and Moeller came upon a burning townhouse complex that was under construction in west Edmonton. The fire was already burning out of control so they called for the fire department and additional police assistance. The building was unoccupied; however, the fire began to spread to three nearby residences that were occupied.
Constables Moeller and Wong began banging on the doors and where joined by Constables Sharuga, Watts and Myhre. They were able to get the residents out of two suites but there was no answer at the third. The fire was intensifying and the heat was almost unbearably as Cst. Wong continued banging on the door. A female finally came to the door. When she realized the danger she grabbed her small child, followed Cst. Wong to safety and informed him that her elderly paralyzed father was still inside.
While Cst. Sharuga re-checked the first two suites to make sure they were empty, Constables Moeller, Myhre, Watts and Wong entered the last one to carry out the paralysed victim. The flames and thick smoke were billowing around them making breathing difficult. As they carried the male out to safety, sparks and other debris fell on and around them.
Once they confirmed that the 3 suites were empty the five constables moved on to evacuate other neighbouring buildings. By this time the Fire Department had arrived and quickly contained and controlled the fire while additional Police units came to assist with evacuations. The quick thinking and brave actions of the five constables helped to save four adults and a child.
For risking their lives, going above and beyond the call of duty to save the lives of others, the Bronze Medal for Bravery was awarded to Constables Timothy Moeller, Brandon Myhre, Nathan Sharuga, Ethan Watts and Norm Wong.
Presenting these awards was Her Honour, the Honourable Lois Mitchell, CM, AOE, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, and A/Chief Tony Harder.