Instinct makes trucker a hero
Published: September 27, 2006
Bruce Fitzsimmons didn’t think twice when he saw a car burning on Highway 401.
While other drivers watched the flaming wreck, Fitzsimmons and a co-worker grabbed fire extinguishers from their auto-hauling truck.
The two truck drivers emptied their extinguishers trying to put the blaze out, but couldn’t, Fitzsimmons said.
“The smoke was so thick we couldn’t see inside the vehicle to determine if anyone was in there,” he said. “So I smashed a side window.”
Fitzsimmons stuck an arm into the vehicle and felt a body.
“There was someone in there, but there was no movement.”
Fitzsimmons opened the door from the inside and pulled out a man who was “glassy-eyed, groggy and could barely move. I dragged him about 25 metres to get him away from the car.”
The car continued to burn.
Fitzsimmons said he didn’t think about it exploding or catching fire himself until after the rescue near Cambridge in January 2005.
“It was just one of those situations where you react and think about what you did later.”
Fitzsimmons said he found it odd “no one was doing anything to find out if someone was in there or to put out the fire.”
A truck driver who lives near Union, Fitzsimmons, 47, is one of 13 Canadians named as recipients of Medals of Bravery.
Two medals were awarded posthumously by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean.
Michel Jalbert of St. Eustache, Que., pushed his struggling son out of a swift current to safety in July 2005 but succumbed to the swirling river waters.
His wife, Nathalie, who dived in to rescue two other children, also received the bravery award.
The other posthumous award winner, Azzedine Lahrichi of Montreal, drowned while trying to rescue his son from drowning .
Paul Luca, of Montreal, who completed the rescue, will also receive a medal.
Fitzsimmons will be presented his award at a later date.
“Receiving this honour from the federal government feels a whole lot better than when they ding me for taxes,” he said.
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