Nova Scotians who saved people from burning homes and snow drifts receive Medal of Bravery

Four Nova Scotians are honoured with the province’s highest recognition for bravery.

Four Nova Scotians – one who saved a man from a burning home and three who rescued people lost in the Cape Breton Highlands – received the province’s Medal of Bravery at a ceremony on Thursday.

Gerrid Hunt, Richard MacPhee, Ryan O’Shea and Scott Rafuse were all recognized for their efforts to help people in 2025. The medal is awarded to civilians and emergency responders who risk their lives to protect other lives or property.

“The Nova Scotia Medal of Bravery recognizes extraordinary courage and heroism and that is what our four honourees have demonstrated,” said Premier Tim Houston in a news release. “On behalf of all Nova Scotians, I am honoured to recognize and thank them.”

Hunt’s daughter woke him up early on Jan. 11, 2025 to tell him their neighbour’s home in Lower Sackville was on fire. Hunt learned a man and three children were still in the building, so he entered it on his hands and knees and dragged an unconscious man to safety.

“It was just burning the throat, burned the eyes. I tried my best to get to him. Took a few tries and finally got to him,” Hunt told CTV News Atlantic last year.

The man, his wife and a young child survived the fire, but three other children did not.

“For a while, I couldn’t close my eyes without seeing and hearing some of the sounds from that night,” Hunt said on Thursday.

“This whole process, I’ve just been overwhelmed with gratitude. I’ve had a long road and I can’t help but realize I’m so blessed to have so many people in my path along my journey.”

MacPhee, O’Shea and Rafuse set out to find two fellow snowmobilers who did not return from a trip in the Cape Breton Highlands on Feb. 14, 2025.

“We just knew we had to go,” O’Shea said. “When the time came, we went and, you know, we were lucky. The decisions we made paid off.”

They found one man and helped him get to safety, then joined a search and rescue operation to locate the other man.

“I don’t know. They saved my life. Yup, they saved my life,” Hughie Whalen, one of the rescued snowmobilers, previously told CTV News Atlantic. “These guys were crazy enough to go up there. Thank God, man. I’d definitely do the same for them.”

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Natalie Lombard, Hafsa Arif and Ryan MacDonald

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