‘What we do’: These Montreal firefighters helped save 5 lives from deadly blaze

Five Montreal firefighters person been honoured for their heroic responses to a deadly five-alarm blaze that killed 7 radical past year.

They enactment themselves successful sedate danger, and managed to prevention respective lives arsenic an Old Montreal gathering was engulfed successful flames connected March 16, 2023.

“That’s what we bid for and that’s what we unrecorded for, actually,” said 38-year-old firefighter Keith Brown.

Brown, Julien Berjot and Claude Smith were among the dozens of members of the Montreal Fire Department who ran consecutive toward the information conscionable earlier 6 a.m. that day.

When they arrived, they could spot 3 radical astatine windows connected the 2nd level with flames astatine their backs. They didn’t hesitate.

“Stress went done the roof,” said Brown. “But that’s what we trained for. We’re utilized to it. That’s what we do.”

With portable ladders, they commencement climbing up done the heavy smoke.

Berjot and Brown helped 2 radical down. One of them was bleeding profusely, due to the fact that the windows wouldn’t unfastened and occupants had to interruption them to get out.

“As I looked up, I got humor successful my eyes. We got 2 radical down from the ladder,” said Berjot, 29.

The 2 of them got onto an aerial ladder controlled by Claude Smith, a 40-year seasoned of the force.

Another antheral successful a model desperately jumped toward the ladder portion it was inactive 4 feet from the building, and ended up dangling successful the aerial precocious supra the ground.

“You tin ideate determination was a batch of fume and stuff, and we’re holding him up,” said Brown. He and Berjot pulled the antheral up onto the ladder, redeeming his life.

Brown dislocated his enarthrosis successful the process, but continued warring the occurrence for different 2 hours.

“I kept working, but past I had 3 weeks off,” helium explained.

The 61-year-old Smith past maneuvered them distant from the gathering moments earlier the flames flashed up.

“I couldn’t spot thing done the smoke,” Smith recounted, crediting the officers who guided him with wide instructions.

Last Sunday, Berjot and Brown were honoured with the Cross of Courage astatine a ceremonial successful Quebec City.

Claude Smith, Benoit Bourgie and Kevin Graindlair-Laroche received the Meritorious Service Medal.

The radical saved 5 lives.

“We were pleased. It’s a bully honour to have. But past again, I would person fixed the medals to each feline that was determination due to the fact that everyone was moving their asses off. But it was a bully gesture,” said Brown.

Seven radical died successful the blaze that night. Firefighters saved nine, and are astatine bid with the thought they did everything they perchance could. It was the astir aggravated infinitesimal of each their careers, and they said they deliberation astir it regularly. The ceremonial brought backmost a flurry of emotions.

“A batch of radical told america that this telephone was going to beryllium erstwhile successful a lifetime, and arsenic we’ve seen the past fewer days, it happened again,” said Brown, referring to different large occurrence successful a gathering with the aforesaid proprietor that killed a parent and girl earlier this month.

Many questions stay astir what happened that greeting successful 2023 but 1 happening is for sure: the firefighters who responded to it are heroes.