MUSKOKA PARAMEDIC HICKEY BEING HONOURED TONIGHT FOR BRAVERY IN 2019 FIRE

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

TORONTO — A Muskoka paramedic honoured in 2019 for helping save a mother and two children during a fire is being further recognized tonight with the Ontario Medal for Paramedic Bravery.

The Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, will present medals to 11 paramedics in a ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum during Paramedic Service Week.

On October 25, 2019, Muskoka Paramedic Services’ Matt Hickey and his partner, along with Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers, responded to a house fire.

At the scene, they found a house surrounded by thick smoke with a woman holding two children at the second story window. Despite the threat posed to them by the heavy smoke, Hickey, his partner and an OPP officer made their way into the house to rescue the family. He assisted in getting the family to the roof of the home, where the children were handed down to an OPP officer, while their mother was led to the ground by ladder, with the assistance of the fire department.

Hickey assessed the family as they were transported to the hospital, and they avoided serious injuries.

He was previously honoured by the District of Muskoka.

Other Ontario recipients are include paramedics:

  • moving an injured OPP officer out of harm’s way as a vehicle slid uncontrollably towards him during a hazardous snowstorm
  • providing care to OPP officers suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds while in an unsafe environment
  • removing occupants from a burning car at risk of exploding
  • extracting individuals from burning homes while being exposed to potentially deadly smoke
  • saving other first responders during a gas line explosion
  • providing life-saving care to injured youth while off-duty, not knowing if the assailant was still in the vicinity

See MuskokaTODAY.com’s original 2019 story here.

The District of Muskoka honoured paramedic Matt Hickey, right, after the incident, along with OPP Sgt. Matthew Hanes, OPP Const. Sarah Van Norman and Hickey’s partner paramedic Lucas Leggett. Presenting the commendations was Muskoka Paramedic Services chief Jeff McWilliam.

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