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OPP celebrates northern Ontario heroes

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Six-year-old Jackson True had the largest grin on his face after he was honoured Friday at an OPP awards ceremony in North Bay for saving his family from their house fire last year.

Jackson, his mother Janet and younger sister, Madison, were sleeping in their Eden Township home -- in the outskirts of Greater Sudbury when he woke up to the smell of smoke around 4 a.m. on Feb. 5, 2021.

"I still remember everything, but I wasn't scared," he said.

The young boy quickly climbed out of bed, woke up his mom and sister and helped get them out of the house safely. Although there were smoke alarms in the home, they had not yet been triggered and the fire could have spread more rapidly.

Jackson’s father, Mathew, was out of town for work at the time of the fire.

"We just purchased the home six weeks prior,” his dad said.

He rushed home after receiving a call from his wife that they safely made it out of the house.

"Another 10 minutes and it could have been a different story," he said.

The family will start building a new house in two week’s time.

Jackson is just one of more than 70 provincial police officers and civilians who were presented with awards for their years of service, for going above and beyond the call of duty and for their acts of bravery and lifesaving.

"They're ordinary people that we ask to do extraordinary things,"” said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique. "Officers put their lives on the line ever single day to protect the quality of life we enjoy in this province."

Among the recipients: OPP Const. Sarah Ali, OPP Const. Matthew Ormsby, OPP Const. James Pigeau and three civilians -- Alec Daviau, Christopher Prest, and Rene Rivers. The group of six rescued a seven-year-old girl from drowning in the Blanche River in Kirkland Lake in May 2021.

A group of six, three OPP and three civilians, were awarded by OPP for saving a little girl from drowning. June 10/22 (Eric Taschner/CTV Northern Ontario)

"I’m very grateful that it turned out the way it did," Ormsby said.

The young girl was playing on the banks of the river when she slipped off a rock ledge and fell into the fast-moving water. The current took her through a set of rapids and into a large pool of water. She was seen going under several times. At one point, she was underwater for five minutes.

Ormsby recalls that he was just about to finish his shift when the 911 call came through. He said he quickly grabbed all of his gear with the other two officers, hopped in their cruisers and sped towards the river.

Prest said he grabbed a life jacket and ran into the water but could not reach the girl. Daviau ran across a bridge and located the girl on the opposite side of the river unresponsive. The three civilians began performing CPR until officers arrived.

The three officers then arrived on scene and took over the CPR. After several minutes, the girl regained consciousness and began breathing on her own. She was taken to hospital and made a full recovery, police said.

"It was an amazing turnout. It was very stressful at the time. I’m glad it turned out the way it did and she made a recovery," Ormsby said.

Carrique credits the officers for going above the call of duty to both serve and protect and the civilians for stepping up to offer help when it was needed.

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