Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: August 22, 1988
• Invested on: June 02, 1989

Early in the afternoon of June 24, 1987, Firefighter Marcel Marceau rescued a man trapped on the second floor of a burning rooming house in Quebec City. When he arrived at the scene, flames and smoke were billowing from the windows of the building. Equipped with a ladder and a respirator he went to the rear of the structure and climbed onto the roof. Although hindered by the thick black smoke and intense heat, he entered the building and crawled around in search of victims. One hand brushed the body of a man, whom he dragged to the exit, then asked for help in moving onto the roof. Having ascertained that the man was not breathing and that his heart was no longer beating he immediately started a cardiac massage while another firefighter gave him artificial respiration. When the victim had revived, Mr. Marceau and an other firefighter carried him down to the waiting ambulance. After replacing his respirator, Mr. Marceau returned to the roof and re-entered the building in search of another victim. The thick smoke made it almost impossible to see, but he searched until he had only a few seconds of air remaining. Forced to abandon his rescue efforts he raced against the clock to reach fresh air and emerged from the blazing building unharmed.