St. Catharines, Ontario, Mayor Mat Siscoe presented the Carnegie Medal to police officer Aidan James Loughlin at a Feb. 9 presentation held at St. Catharines city hall.
Loughlin was off duty Dec. 6, 2023, when he and Carnegie Hero Justin Baird helped rescue Glen Havers, 63, from burning inside his St. Catharines apartment.
Havers, 63, lay unconscious inside a second-floor doorway at the top of an interior staircase inside the burning apartment building. Off-duty police officers Loughlin, 24, and Baird, 25, were walking nearby when they smelled and saw smoke. They saw windows shatter and flames pour out of the building. Both men ran to the scene and told bystanders recording the fire on their phones to call 911. Loughlin kicked and shattered a locked glass door before he climbed under the push bar, followed by Baird. The two men crawled up the stairs through heavy smoke and saw an open door at the top of the stairs. Loughlin entered through the doorway and tripped over Havers’ feet. He moved farther inside the room and bent over as the flames poured out of the doorway near the ceiling above him. He grabbed Havers by his boots with both hands and pulled him out to the stair landing, then passed Havers’ legs to Baird. Loughlin could feel his head getting hot and feared his hat had caught on fire, prompting him to discard it. Baird grabbed Havers’ legs as he started to crawl backward down the stairs while Loughlin held the man under his arms and slid down on his buttocks. They navigated around and stumbled over clutter on the stairs while carrying Havers to the first floor. The three men eventually made it outside to the sidewalk. Havers suffered severe burns to his head and face. He was hospitalized for several weeks but recovered. Loughlin suffered from smoke inhalation and was treated at an emergency room. Baird also recovered from smoke inhalation.
“Today we are proud to present Aidan Loughlin with the prestigious Carnegie Medal for his act of heroism and selflessness in saving the life of his fellow man,” Mayor Siscoe said. “In risking his own life to save Glen’s, Aidan truly defines what Carnegie referred to as a hero of civilization. Thank you, Aidan, for your bravery.”
Upon accepting the medal, Loughlin thanked the man who nominated him for the medal, who had passed away a few weeks prior.
“Today I found out that the gentleman who had nominated me for this award had passed away a few weeks ago,” Loughlin said. “Peter Gill, a lifelong resident of St. Catharines, 30-years with the Niagara regional police, retired as an inspector in 2000, and he’s the reason I graduated high school. He’s the reason I am doing what I am doing today. Thank you to Peter.”