Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: August 28, 1997
• Invested on: May 15, 1998

On September 15, 1996, during Hurricane Hortense, volunteer Firefighter Tony Fitzgerald rescued a woman whose vehicle had been swept off the Cabot Trail at Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia. Flowing into the ocean, the rushing current of the Clyburn River had carried the woman's vehicle 20 meters off the road where she was forced to cling to a tree. Darkness and the deafening roar of the water made communication with the victim impossible. Mr. Fitzgerald and the fire crews attempted to launch two rescue boats past the eddy which had formed at the eroding roadway. The strong current washed the first boat out to sea and flipped the other one over, jamming it against a truck and trapping two people. After the second boat was pried free, it was hooked to the cable of a power boom truck and winched past the eddy. Mr. Fitzgerald struggled through the fast-flowing water to the woman and helped her into the boat. They were pulled back to the truck where they climbed inside the lowered bucket and were lifted to safety.