Star of Courage

• Awarded on: December 21, 1999
• Invested on: December 08, 2000

On March 17, 1998, 28-year-old Henry Shier lost his life trying to save his mother from their burning house in Chalk River, Ontario. Awakened by the sound of a smoke detector, Mr. Shier left the house with his father then realized that his mother was trapped in the basement. Seeing that the efforts of his father and a neighbour to enter the house were in vain, Mr. Shier crawled inside through a basement window. With molten ceiling materials dripping on him and igniting his clothes, he located his mother, dragged her to the window and held her up while his father and others attempted to pull them out. Tragically, Mr. Shier and his mother were overcome by smoke and died in the inferno.