A Simcoe County paramedic who pulled an injured OPP officer out of the path of traffic during a snowstorm is among 11 Ontario paramedics awarded the province's Medal for Paramedic Bravery.
Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont and Health Minister Sylvia Jones presented the medals to paramedics from Simcoe County, York Region, Muskoka and other parts of the province, according to a Simcoe.com report.
Dumont praised the group's courage in a news release.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to shine a light on the bravery of our province's paramedics. They face dangerous situations that require a great deal of courage, and their actions help create more caring communities.
The local recipient is Geoff D'Eon, a primary care paramedic with County of Simcoe Paramedic Services. He was driving with his family along Horseshoe Valley Road in Oro-Medonte on Jan. 13 after a bad snowstorm when they came across what appeared to be a vehicle collision at the bottom of a hill.
D'Eon stopped to help and found an injured OPP officer lying on the roadway, directly in the path of oncoming traffic. He grabbed the officer and moved him safely to the side of the road.
"If not for the courageous actions of paramedic D'Eon, the officer could have been struck and killed," the Ontario government website says.
York Region paramedic rescued crash victims from burning car
Taylor Collins, a primary care paramedic with York Region Paramedic and Senior Services, was heading home after a night shift on Sept. 9, 2023, when she saw a car erupt into flames. She pulled over and found two vehicles had been involved in a head-on collision.
Despite the risk of flames, heat and explosion, Collins got out of her car and worked with an off-duty firefighter to drag people out of one vehicle and away from the fire, the Ontario government website says. She also helped the on-duty paramedics who arrived to treat the patients.
Muskoka fire rescue and other acts of courage
Muskoka paramedic Matt Hickey responded to an Oct. 25, 2019, house fire where a woman was holding two children at a second-storey window. Hickey, his partner and an OPP officer entered the smoke-filled home, got the family to the roof and handed the children down to safety. Hickey cared for the family on the way to hospital, and none suffered serious injuries.
Other medals went to paramedics from Manitoulin-Sudbury, Middlesex-London, Rainy River and the United Counties of Prescott and Russell.
Middlesex-London paramedic David Jeffries stayed on scene after a vehicle crash into a home ignited a gas line and caused an explosion on Aug. 14, 2019, injuring nearly everyone present. He triaged and transported injured police and fire personnel; all survived.
Rainy River paramedics Syed Ali and Raphaël Désautels took turns entering a smoke-filled home after a March 20, 2023, residential fire call, found a person on the floor and got them to hospital.
The ceremony also recognized the risks paramedics face from violence. Four Prescott and Russell paramedics treated two injured OPP officers — one unconscious inside a house — at a May 11, 2023, call for a possible gunshot wound, removing them from danger and rushing them to a trauma centre.
