Recipients of Nova Scotia's Medal of Bravery Announced

Three Nova Scotians who risked their lives to help others were awarded today, Nov. 18, with Nova Scotia's Medal of Bravery.

"I'm pleased to announce the recipients of Nova Scotia's Medal of Bravery," said Premier Darrell Dexter. "These individuals deserve to be honoured for their selfless acts of courage that saved the lives of others."

The recipients are:

• Douglas Baird, Aylesford, Kings Co. Mr. Baird saved the life of a person who fell through the ice while skating on Aylesford Lake. Mr. Baird acted quickly and was able to pull the person out of the ice and assist them back to safety

• Claire Collier, Sydney. Ms. Collier was outside her Sydney River apartment building when she noticed flames coming from the third floor. Ms. Collier entered the burning building and rescued a senior citizen who did not hear the fire alarm ringing. Within minutes of the rescue, the entire building was engulfed in flames

• William Smith, Walton, Hants Co. Mr. Smith was traveling along highway 215 in Cambridge, when he came upon a burning vehicle overturned in a ditch. Upon hearing a young girl's calls for help from the vehicle, he acted quickly to pull the girl from the backseat and carry her to safety

This is the second year Nova Scotia's Medal of Bravery has been presented. Last year, four Nova Scotians received the medal for their courageous acts.

Recipients were selected by an advisory panel chaired by Constance Glube, former Chief Justice of Nova Scotia. The committee also includes the deputy minister of Justice, the provincial fire marshall, the president of the Nova Scotia Chiefs of Police Association, the chief executive officer of the Emergency Management Office, the commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic, former Member of the Legislative Assembly Wayne Adams, and member-at-large Mr. John Cody.