Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: June 25, 1998
• Invested on: May 10, 1999

Judy Miller, M.B., R.N.
Cheryl Parrotta, M.B., R.N.
Medal of Bravery

On July 11, 1997, nurses Judy Miller and Cheryl Parrotta rescued an elderly man from his hospital bed engulfed in flames in Sudbury, Ontario. When fire broke out in the room of a man secured by a belt to his bed because of frequent falls, nurses Miller and Parrotta found the patient, his bed and bedside furniture, engulfed in flames. They attempted to extinguish the flames on the man's body but the fire kept reigniting. Undeterred, they continued despite toxic black smoke and ominous popping noises coming from an oxygen valve. Fire singed the hair on Mrs. Parrotta's arm and the smoke forced her to leave the room in a fit of intense coughing. Unable to breathe and with her hair on fire, Ms. Miller had meanwhile managed to untie the victim's belt and pull him to the floor. Assisted by Mrs. Parrotta who had returned to help, Ms. Miller dragged the patient to the hallway where others tended to his severe burns. With several other nurses, Ms. Miller and Mrs. Parrotta then evacuated the other patients. Regrettably, the victim did not survive.