Two Bear Lake men will receive medals of bravery from the Governor General.
Ratko Djuric and Barry Nilsen will be presented with the medals, the Governor General said Thursday, for rescuing a woman from her burning home nearly three years ago.
It all began when Djuric was leaving for work at Canfor's Polar sawmill at about 4:30 a.m. on August 26, 2008 and saw flames coming from the home's basement.
According to a citation from the Governor General, Djuric ran to the house and could hear the voice of a woman inside, but was unable to see due to the dense, toxic smoke. That didn't stop him from holding his breath and crawling inside to find Emma Browne in the hallway.
He grabbed her by the ankle and started pulling her towards the door, but had to rush outside to catch his breath. Nilsen, who also works at the Polar sawmill, then arrived and made his way to the unconscious victim, pulling her another short distance.
With Djuric's help, he managed to drag Browne outside. The men then alerted other neighbours of the danger and the volunteer fire department was called to the scene.
Browne suffered severe burns and was airlifted to hospital in Vancouver where she was stabilized and survived. Browne's children were not at home when the fire broke out.
Just six hours earlier, firefighters in the community of about 170 people 73 kilometres north of Prince George had been called to a vacant home next door that was ablaze. However, indications were the fire in Browne's home was not started as a result of embers from the first fire next door.
Djuric and Nilsen were among 58 Canadians who will receive medals at a ceremony in Ottawa. The date is still to be determined.
Neither man could be reached for comment Thursday.
