Star of Courage
Awarded on: 2000-06-14
Invested on: 2001-02-02
Early on the morning of October 19, 1999, Michel Lemay rescued a woman and two small children from their burning mobile home in Saint-Colomban, Quebec. Seeing that the front portion of the home across the street was engulfed in flames, Mr. Lemay raced to the back and broke down the door, releasing a wall of thick black smoke. Guided by gasping sounds, he crawled along the hall until he stumbled upon an unconscious two-year-old boy and carried him outside. Despite the spreading flames, Mr. Lemay resumed his search down the hall and found the child's mother. Once he had dragged the unconscious woman to safety, he removed his burning coat and entered the home a third time despite burns to his neck and hands. In choking smoke and zero visibility, he groped his way to a back room and retrieved the limp body of a four-year-old girl. Alerted by others who had revived the three victims that a five-year-old boy was also trapped inside, Mr. Lemay tried to go back into the crumbling house, but the fire was too fierce. Sadly, the little boy perished in the flames.