Thunder Bay Police Service Media Release
Members of the Thunder Bay Police Service were honoured last evening by the Hon. David Johnson, Governor General of Canada.
Decorations for Bravery recognize people who risked their lives to try to save or protect another.
The Decorations were created by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1972. The Governor General personally presented the Decorations at a ceremony in Ottawa.
The Medal of Bravery recognizes acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances.
This medal was presented to Constables James Elvish, Ryan Krupa, Andrea MacInnis and Kristopher Poling for the bravery exhibited by the officers during the fire that occurred at the Travelodge Hotel on Memorial Avenue during the early morning hours of October 22, 2011.
Officers arriving on scene began to evacuate the hotel guests from their rooms.
The smoke quickly filled the hallways and the hotel rooms forcing the officers to evacuate the building for fire personnel to continue the evacuation efforts. Once officers were outside the building, they saw an elderly gentlemen waving for help from a third floor window.
Officers immediately breached an exterior security door to gain entry into the hotel. One officer was severely cut and was later taken to hospital by ambulance. The officers proceeded to the third floor and then crawled below the smoke locating five other individuals and assisted them out of the building. The officers are recognized for entering the smoke-filled building and searching to rescue anybody in distress.
Chief J.P. Levesque is extremely proud of these officers, saying "constables Elvish, Krupa, MacInnis and Poling went above and beyond when they ran into a very dangerous situation. These officers defined bravery by putting their own lives second to the lives of others. They are extremely deserving of this recognition."
