Midhurst/April 9, 2015 – The Simcoe County 9-1-1 Management Board Public Safety Communications Team Award, and Youth Award winners were recognized at a ceremony today at the Simcoe County Museum.
The eighth annual ceremony recognizes the exceptional work of the unsung but essential call-takers, dispatchers, and supervisors in our emergency response system. These are the men and women who provide a vital link to callers in distress and provide a communications safety net to emergency responders on scene.
The 2014 Youth Award, historically presented to only one child, was this year handed out to three individuals from two separate incidents.
In July 2014, then 9-year-old Matthew Ross and his older brother Patrick, 11, showed courage and determination when their mother experienced a life-threatening medical emergency. Patrick dialed 9-1-1, provided accurate information to the operator, and relayed instructions to Matthew who administered first aid to save their mother's life.
Emma Osborne was recognized for the courage and determination she showed in October 2014, when her father experienced a life-threatening medical emergency. Emma, then 8 years of age, took extraordinary measures at risk to her own safety to make sure that 9-1-1 was called and that her dad received the emergency help he needed, including making her way over a long distance out of the bush, asking a stranger for assistance, and then returning to the location on the main road where she had exited the bush so that paramedics could find their location. Her amazing actions saved her father's life.
The 2014 Simcoe County Public Safety Communications Team Award was presented to the Georgian Central Ambulance Communications Centre team of Kelly Buckley, Jeremy Cadieux, Amit Duggal, Brie-Anne Kinrade, Candice LaHay-Marley, Dana Marley, Julie Mason, Andrew Parsons, Shannon Penasse, Joel Mousseau, Dawn Rawson, and Shelly Spring for their exemplary co-ordinated response to several major motor vehicle collisions on February 27, 2014, including one on Highway 400 that included approximately 100 vehicles. Teams from OPP Provincial Communications Centre Orillia and Barrie Fire & Emergency Service will also be recognized with Inter-Agency Team certificates for their work on this call.
Four additional teams were recognized in this category for their responses to three separate events:
- The team of Loni Bellavance, Wendy Camber, and Scott Simpson of Barrie Fire & Emergency Service responded to an extremely challenging incident that occurred in Tay Township on January 25, 2014, in which two snowmobilers were stranded on the ice of Georgian Bay, lost, wet, and freezing. The work of this team ensured that both men were safely rescued.
- Ontario Provincial Police Orillia Provincial Communications Centre Communications Operators Pete Chamczuk, Wendy Clark, Martin Mallia, Sheila Morrison, and Jeff Soley, Team Leader Diandra Shukaris, and Sergeant Trina Gosse, co-ordinated the complex communications related to a high speed chase, vehicle theft, and domestic violence incident that crossed multiple jurisdictions. As a result of the actions of this team, the primary suspect was safely apprehended.
- The tornado that hit the community of Angus on June 17, 2014 was a complex emergency event that required immediate action on the part of multiple fire services and this team, along with their colleagues who were called in to assist them, showed exemplary professionalism and competence. Teams receiving recognition for their work on responding to this event include:
- The team of Wendy Clark, Brad Shea, and Diandra Shukaris of the Ontario Provincial Police Orillia Provincial Communications Centre who led the police communications in response, affecting more than three hundred homes and resulting in more than one hundred 9-1-1 calls to the Communications Centre in a twenty-four minute period.
- The team of Sharon Phillips-Laidlaw, Tracy Toner, and Amanda Wickham of Barrie Fire & Emergency Service who also responded to an extraordinary number of calls.
- More than 30 additional communicators from Georgian Central Ambulance Communications Centre, Ontario Provincial Police Orillia Provincial Communications Centre, and Barrie Fire & Emergency Services also received Inter-Agency Team certificates for their work responding to this event.
"It is truly an honour to acknowledge these individuals and the incredible work they do under very difficult circumstances," said Warden Gerry Marshall. "When we dial 9-1-1 we place our faith in the voice on the other end of the line to get us through some of the most difficult situations we may ever experience. This group of individuals exemplified the reason that their faith is not misplaced."
The County of Simcoe is composed of 16 member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents, in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca.
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Contacts:
Allan Greenwood
Director, Corporate Communications
705-726-9300 ext. 1230
705-794-9301 (mobile)
Allan.Greenwood@simcoe.ca
Jennifer Straw
Communications Co-ordinator
705-726-9300 ext. 1036
705-790-5979mobile)
Jennifer.Straw@simcoe.ca