On November 14, while on their way back from responding to a call, Lieutenant James McAllister (76-3) and firefighters Martin Demers (76-1), Alexandre Hétu (76-1) and Benoît Audette (76-1) saw something odd: two men wearing surgical gloves and face masks entering a pharmacy. They noted that one of the men even had a revolver, when he stopped a woman from entering the pharmacy.
The firefighters realized that they were witnessing an armed robbery. They quickly contacted the fire department’s communications centre and asked for the police to be called. Meanwhile, they took the initiative of blocking Metcalfe Street with their truck, securing a daycare centre in a neighbouring building, ensuring that there were no pedestrians nearby and helping to evacuate a bus that had stopped right near the pharmacy.
With the firefighters’ assistance, the local police were able to act very promptly. The firefighters even went so far as to help the police nab one of the robbers when he tried to flee down an alley.
The Station 12 police officers decided to salute the contribution of the firefighters from Station 76, located in the City of Westmount, by presenting them with an award of appreciation from the Montréal municipal police department (SPVM), on March 6, 2015. The firefighters concerned greatly appreciated the honour.
The certificate they received from the SPVM notes that, thanks to their excellent sense of observation, the firefighters surprised two men in the process of committing an armed robbery, and their prompt action greatly contributed to the success of the police operation that led to the suspects’ arrest.
Lieutenant McAllister stressed the importance of collaboration between firefighters and police officers. “On the job, we know that we can count on their collaboration and we’re happy to return the favour whenever we can.”
Our sincere congratulations to Lieutenant McAllister and firefighters Demers, Hétu and Audette for their composure and sense of duty.
To read more testimonies, visit the section marked Proud of our employees!