Three people were honoured by the City of Thompson Jan. 24 for their role in saving a family during a 2004 fire.
On Dec. 18, 2004, a fire tore through a home in the Eastwood neighbourhood. Christina Kematch, who was walking nearby, heard a call for help from inside the house. She went to a nearby house, where Jimmy Beardy and Paul Linklater were staying, and they ran to the scene to assist - not dressed for being outdoors in December in the early morning.
"My kids woke me up because they heard the alarm and they smelled smoke," said Linklater, who lived next to the house. "I knew the family, we'd been neighbours for a while. My kids were the same age as their kids."
"I opened the back door, and there was already a lot of smoke," recalled Linklater. "That's when Jimmy showed up."
While Beardy and Linklater ran into the house, Kematch - who was seven months pregnant - caught a child who was thrown down to her from the upstairs window, and took him to a neighbour. Inside, Beardy and Linklater made their way to the second floor, where they found two more children, woke them up, and took them out of the home. The father of the children jumped out of the building, while the last remaining child was rescued by arriving firefighters.
"We went upstairs and saw the kids, woke them up and took them downstairs," said Linklater. "We checked the living room, the basement. There were still three in there - the father, the baby, and the other boy. We couldn't find them, and we couldn't get through the door into the master bedroom. It was locked."
"By the time we went downstairs, that's when the cops came and told us they would take over," he continued. "That's when everybody showed up. It happened so fast."
"It was a serious event," noted fire chief Ian Thompson, who was not with Thompson Fire and Emergency Services at the time of the fire but is familiar with it. "It was a cold day. Regrettably we still have our own firefighters who are suffering from injuries that occurred that day."
Beardy and Linklater were at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Oct. 22, where they were awarded medals of bravery by Gov.-Gen. David Johnston. Kematch was not present on that day, but on Jan. 24, she was presented with a certificate of commendation by Mayor Tim Johnston on behalf of the Governor-General. All three were also given certificates of achievement from the city.
