Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: December 5, 1983
• Invested on: June 22, 1984

Michael David Cotterell, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

Early in the morning of 7 October 1982, Michael Cotterell of the Volunteer Fire Department at Campbellton, New Brunswick, rescued a young girl after a fire broke out in the ground floor apartment where she lived. Answering a call through the paging system, Mr. Cotterell arrived at the scene and heard a woman shouting that her little girl was inside. Thick smoke was pouring out of the apartment. Though a novice firefighter and unprotected by fireman's clothing or breathing apparatus, he entered. He proceeded down the hallway, crawling on his hands and knees, and found the unconscious child near her bed. Moving through heat and smoke, his face buried inside his jacket, he dragged the girl to the front entrance, then administered first-aid. It is through Mr. Cotterell's efforts that young girl, although seriously burned, survived.