Ottawa (November 21) – A team of New Brunswick Power employees who provided immediate medical care to their teammates after a severe fall are recipients of Electricity Canada’s Lifesaving Award.
On January 17, 2023, Jason McKellar, Pat Daigle, Josh McClellan, Grant Donnelly, Hunter Smith, Pierre Luc Larouche, Jean Michel Legace, Stephen Daley, Samuel Saulnier, Dave Jalbert, and Luc Gallant were conducting storm restoration on a transmission line in Albert Mines, New Brunswick. During this repair work, the pole broke and two employees fell 50 feet to the ground. Crew members tried to call 911 but were unable to due to poor reception in the area.
The crew members unhooked the fallen workers, placed them on snowmobiles, and rode them to the roadside where they began performing CPR. Due to weather conditions and the remoteness of the site, several crew members had to leave the site to meet paramedics and drive them by snowmobile or four-wheeler back to their injured crew members to provide aid.
One of the fallen employees succumbed to his injuries. However, the other injured worker was able to be rescued and has now returned to work, thanks to the actions of his crew members.
Electricity Canada’s Lifesaving Awards are granted annually to any on-duty employee of a member utility who was involved in a lifesaving attempt or acted to prevent further harm to someone who needed immediate help. These individuals often risk their own lives to help a stranger in need. The Lifesaving Awards are presented as part of the Occupational Health and Safety program at Electricity Canada, designed to track and monitor safety records of member utilities.
This year’s awards were presented at the 6th annual Electricity Canada Powering Partnerships summit in Ottawa to 23 individuals from five utilities.
QUOTE
Every year, I am so inspired by the incredible, heroic people we have working for our member companies. It’s an honour to share their stories and thank them for their bravery. On behalf of Electricity Canada, I am proud to present this award to this crew from New Brunswick Power for their resourcefulness, and for showing what it truly means to be there for your teammates.
-Francis Bradley, President and CEO, Electricity Canada
I am immensely proud of the quick thinking, courage, and resourcefulness displayed by these individuals during this challenging and most difficult situation. Their decisive, heroic actions exemplify the care we have for our team and clearly demonstrate the lengths to which our employees go to to look after one another. Safety is at the heart of everything we do; that’s why we were heart broken by the loss and injury of our employees but incredibly proud of this team for the actions they took in this situation. -Lori Clark, President and CEO, NB Power
About Electricity Canada:
Founded in 1891, Electricity Canada (formerly the Canadian Electricity Association) is the national forum and voice of the evolving and innovative electricity business in Canada. The Association supports, through its advocacy efforts, the regional, national, and international success of its members. Electricity Canada members generate, transmit, and distribute electrical energy to industrial, commercial, residential, and institutional customers across Canada. Members include integrated electric utilities, independent power producers, transmission and distribution companies, power marketers, and system operators, who together deliver electricity to all Canadians, in every province and territory.
For additional Information:
Graeme Burk, Director of Communications, burk@electricity.ca 613.809.0720