Royal Canadian Humane Association

RCHA APPEAL BROCHURE 1895 (private collection)

Suicidal Person in House Fire Ile a la Crosse, Sask. On 30th March 2020 at about 21:30 hrs at Ile a la Crosse, RCMP Cst Marc-Antoine Beaumont received a call that a female has kicked everyone out of her residence and she lock herself inside. The caller thought that the female was suicidal. Immediately Cst Beaumont called for back-up and Cst Kerr came to assist. Cst. Beaumont received a second call stating that the house was now on fire, the firefighters are on there way and t...hat Colleen is still inside the locked house. Members arrived on scene at the same time as the local fire department. As soon as they arrived, the firefighters start getting ready to enter the house. Cst. Beaumont observed that all the windows where broken, smoke was coming out of the house but the fire was in the back of the house. Cst. Beaumont and Cst. Kerr tried to kick both entries, side and back doors, but the female had placed something to block the doors. With the help of the fire fighters the door was breached and Cst. Kerr advised that Daigneault was likely in the bedroom at the back. Cst. Beaumont called to have EMS attend. Cst. Beaumont and Cst. Kerr moved in the backyard in case that if the female tried to flee by the windows they would be able to arrest her. One of the firefighters got into the bedroom and yelled that the female was unconscious on the floor, with a rope around her neck and a knife beside her. The firefighters could not remove the female and one firefighter yelled at Cst. Kerr to come in to take the body out. Cst. Kerr entered by the side door and Cst. Beaumont followed him. The smoke was so hot and dense that members had to crouch walk. Cst Kerr was first to reach the back room where the female was and saw that a rope was around her neck and a knife beside her. She was unconscious and the fire was now getting more intense. Cst. Kerr split second reaction was that he had to get the female out. He grabbed her by her arm and began to drag her out of the room and down the hallway. Cst. Beaumont, who was crouched low from the smoke seen Cst. Kerr dragging the female by her arm. He then immediately grabbed the female by her leg to help lift her out of the house and on to the front lawn. Firefighters return inside to extinguish the fire. The female was unconscious when Cst. Kerr took a rope off of her neck. Moments later EMS could be heard coming closer. The female awoke and became agitated but was put under control and taken away for medical attention. If it were not for the quick actions of these two members, the female would surely have perished. The members did not have firefighting training but did save the life of the female as the firefighters on scene could not. They did not have any firefighting equipment of breath apparatus to assist them in the rescue. They went into a heavily smoke filled house with an intense fire blazing. Therefore Cst. Marc-Antoine Beaumont and Cst. Tyler Kerr each received the silver medal for bravery.

Water Rescue Deschambault Lake, Sask. On 25th August 2019 at about 2 p.m. at Deschambault Lake First Nations, RCMP Cst. Justin McKay demonstrated rational sound thinking, judgment, and heroics in entering the lake to rescue an individual in distress. ... This individual had been evading the members on numerous occasions throughout several days and had resisted arrest at one point; assaulting one of the members. While members were trying to arrest him on this date, he fled leading them on a foot pursuit which ended with this individual entering the lake and attempting to swim to an island. The male was about 75 meters from shore when he went into distress; panicking, struggling to swim, and yelling for help. Cst. McKay showed no hesitation in removing his duty gear (vest, belt and boots), ensuring it was secured by another member nearby, and entering the water knowing the risks involved to save this individual from drowning. Cst. McKay remained calm with sound, rational thinking and additionally removed his work pants and shirt. Cst. McKay felt if the individual became violent in the water, he would have less weight, greater mobility, and fewer items for the person to grasp onto. Cst. McKay entered the water and began to swim towards the individual. The depth of the lake immediately dropped off to well over 10 feet and was getting deeper and deeper. Just as Cst. McKay reached the distressed subject, a local unidentified band member arrived in a small boat and assisted Cst. McKay in getting the male into the boat and back to shore. The individual was brought back to shore and eventually arrested and placed into custody. The individual later revealed that he was under the influence of illegal drugs at the time. Cst. McKay exemplified professionalism, bravery, and quick thinking in his actions which helped save this man's life. Therefore Cst. Justin McKay received the Honorary Testimonial Certificate

House Fire Rescue Deschambault Lake, SK. On 7th June 2019 at about 3 p.m. at Deschambault Lake First Nations, Sask., RCMP Cst. Derek Haines and Sgt. Johann Josephson were driving by a six-plex housing units and noted heavy smoke billowing from the bottom left unit. Three young boys exited as members parked near the building. The boys stated that someone left a pot on the stove and people were still inside the residence, which was filled with smoke.... Without hesitation, both members ran inside the unit, concerned there was a fire and to clear the occupants out. Once inside, the residence was completely filled with heavy dark smoke making it very difficult for members to see. The members located three heavily intoxicated individuals inside; one of which needed to be aroused and escorted out of the building. Members then cleared the upper unit of the multi-plex building, as smoke was also billowing from there. Another intoxicated female was located inside and escorted out. Once determined that there was no fire and just heavy smoke from the pot on the stove, Cst. Haines took the opportunity to get his disposable mouth mask and safety glasses to complete a second sweep of the residence as Sgt. Josephson checked on the people that were located inside. Once the building was evacuated it took some time for the smoke to completely clear. Sgt. Josephson and Cst. Haines both suffered from severe smoke inhalation from the initial entry and clearing of the residence; coughing, lungs and eyes burning and unable to catch their breath. Members attended the medical clinic in the community, along with one of the individuals located inside the residence, for assessment and treatment. Both members received oxygen and water, while Sgt. Josephson was given additional medication to use for the next few days due to troubled breathing. These members reacted without hesitation to this life threatening situation, putting their own health and safety at risk and as a resulted save four lives. Therefore Sgt. Johann Josephson and Cst. Derek Haines received the bronze medal for bravery.

Due too COVID-19 all recipients RCHA awards for 2020 will be mailed to recipients. Just recently I was surprised by CTV Saturday night news reported that three recipients received their silver medals for a shooting incident at Hudon's Bar in Saskatoon on March 3rd. https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/the-number-one-thing-for-us-is... If anyone else hears of awards being reported on please feel free to post.