[xtypo_dropcap]T[/xtypo_dropcap]wo Canadians are being honoured in the latest round of Carnegie medal awards for exceptional acts of civilian heroism in 2009. The medal is given to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.
The Canadian recipients, Michael Sharpe, of Spruce Grove, Alberta, and Gheorgita Rusu of Ottawa are among a group of 21 from Canada and the United States to be honoured, in the fourth and final award announcement of 2010.
Sharpe, 35, saved Marc Bissonette after his tractor trailer carrying 9,200 litres of jet fuel was in an accident on an Alberta highway and rolled over on the driver’s side. Flames immediately engulfed the vehicle and Bissonette was trapped inside.
Sharpe, a heavy haul operator who was travelling along the same highway, stopped at the scene, climbed onto the cab, and forced open the door, rescuing Bissonette who incredibly escaped with only minor injuries. Sharpe sustained burns, including a third degree burn to his arm that required hospital treatment.
Twenty-one-year-old Rusu, an assistant manager at a pharmacy in Nepean, Ontario, rushed to intervene when he heard the screams of letter carrier Brenda Van Leyen who was being stabbed by a man at the rear of the pharmacy.
Rusu temporarily held off the assailant before getting stabbed himself. He then ran back into the pharmacy to call the police. Rusu received hospital treatment for his injuries and fully recovered, while Van Leyen spent a month in hospital being treated for multiple stab wounds.
As well as a medal, each of the awardees or their next of kin will also receive a financial grant.
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission was started in 1904 by Andrew Carnegie, a Pittsburgh-based financier and titan of the steel industry in the early 1900s.
Carnegie was inspired to create the fund after hearing the rescue stories from a disaster at a mine in Harwick, Pennsylvania, at which a massive explosion in 1904 claimed 181 lives.
The fund’s two-fold mission is to “recognize persons who perform acts of heroism in civilian life in the U.S. and Canada, and to provide financial assistance for those disabled and dependants of those killed helping people.”
The fund is administered by a 21-member commission based in Pittsburgh. Since its inception the fund has awarded a total of US$32.9 million to 9,412 people.
The Canadian recipients, Michael Sharpe, of Spruce Grove, Alberta, and Gheorgita Rusu of Ottawa are among a group of 21 from Canada and the United States to be honoured, in the fourth and final award announcement of 2010.
Sharpe, 35, saved Marc Bissonette after his tractor trailer carrying 9,200 litres of jet fuel was in an accident on an Alberta highway and rolled over on the driver’s side. Flames immediately engulfed the vehicle and Bissonette was trapped inside.
Sharpe, a heavy haul operator who was travelling along the same highway, stopped at the scene, climbed onto the cab, and forced open the door, rescuing Bissonette who incredibly escaped with only minor injuries. Sharpe sustained burns, including a third degree burn to his arm that required hospital treatment.
Twenty-one-year-old Rusu, an assistant manager at a pharmacy in Nepean, Ontario, rushed to intervene when he heard the screams of letter carrier Brenda Van Leyen who was being stabbed by a man at the rear of the pharmacy.
Rusu temporarily held off the assailant before getting stabbed himself. He then ran back into the pharmacy to call the police. Rusu received hospital treatment for his injuries and fully recovered, while Van Leyen spent a month in hospital being treated for multiple stab wounds.
As well as a medal, each of the awardees or their next of kin will also receive a financial grant.
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission was started in 1904 by Andrew Carnegie, a Pittsburgh-based financier and titan of the steel industry in the early 1900s.
Carnegie was inspired to create the fund after hearing the rescue stories from a disaster at a mine in Harwick, Pennsylvania, at which a massive explosion in 1904 claimed 181 lives.
The fund’s two-fold mission is to “recognize persons who perform acts of heroism in civilian life in the U.S. and Canada, and to provide financial assistance for those disabled and dependants of those killed helping people.”
The fund is administered by a 21-member commission based in Pittsburgh. Since its inception the fund has awarded a total of US$32.9 million to 9,412 people.
