- Abbotsford, British Columbia
Decorations for Bravery
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Medal of Bravery
- Awarded on: January 23, 1984
- Invested on: June 22, 1984
Late in the afternoon of 2 June 1981, Cpl. Patrick McBride of the Matsqui Police Department and James Roe rescued eight staff members who had taken refuge on the roof of the Living Unit building during a prison riot at the Matsqui Institution in British Columbia. Shortly after the rioting inmates had set fire to the three-storey building, Mr. Roe, a helicopter pilot, responded to an urgent call for help and volunteered to airlift the stranded personnel; Cpl. McBride also volunteered and accompanied Mr. Roe on the first flight. Intense heat and smoke and failing daylight combined to make this rescue mission very dangerous. While Cpl. McBride remained on the roof, providing assistance and armed protection to the staff, Mr. Roe made three separate trips, hovering over the burning building surrounded by inmates hurling rocks and debris at the helicopter. Knowing that a blade of the main rotor had been hit by a rock, thus increasing the chances of a crash, Mr. Roe persisted and succeeded in removing the eight staff members. Cpl. McBride was last to leave; moments later the fire engulfed the building and the roof collapsed.
* This is the second award of a Medal of Bravery to Cpl McBride. -
Medal of Bravery
- Awarded on: May 9, 1983
- Invested on: September 09, 1983
Constable Brian David Beresh, M.B.
Corporal Patrick Aloysius Kevin McBride, M.B.
Medal of Bravery
In the late morning of 16 March 1982, Cpl. Patrick McBride and Cst. Brian Beresh of the Matsqui Police Service, in British Columbia, rescued a woman from a house fire. Cst. Beresh responded first to a fire call and found the house locked and full of smoke; Cpl. McBride arrived soon after. Determined to check for inhabitants, the latter forced open the front door. A search of the upper floor, filling quickly with acrid smoke, turned up no one and the policemen proceeded downstairs, where breathing was almost impossible. Returning to the garage area for fresh air they heard moaning from the basement, eventually locating the woman, immobile from a fall. With difficulty they carried her upstairs and outside where she was taken to hospital.