On August 2nd, 2021, a young woman was operating a Sea Doo on Ramsey Lake where she suddenly went into a state of medical distress.

Her 911 call was answered by GSPS Communicator, Kevin D’Aoust. Chief of police and man standing holding certificate

It was incredibly challenging for Kevin to obtain information from the woman as she was in severe distress.

After roughly two minutes of constant probing, Kevin was able to determine that the caller was on Ramsey Lake, in medical distress and that a water-rescue from Fire Services was required.

Kevin immediately created the call and dispatched the required resources. However, it was difficult to determine the exact location of the caller due to the fact that Ramsey Lake is a large body of water with multiple access points and that the woman was incapable of communicating her exact location.

Kevin remained on the phone with the woman for over 13 minutes. He was empathetic and reassuring to the woman. Kevin remained calm throughout the duration of this stressful situation.

During the call, another boater happened to be passing by, and Kevin was able to gather more information from them and walked them through helping the young woman as she slipped into unconsciousness again.

Fire Services located the woman and were able to extract her from the water. She was transported to HSN.

It should also be noted that during the 24 minute period from the call being received and the woman being rescued from the water, the following was occurring in the Emergency Communications Centre (ECC):

  • 49 phone calls managed
  • 130 radio transmissions on the Police Urban Channel
  • 17 radio transmissions on the Police Regional Channel
  • 143 radio transmissions on the Fire Radio Channel

We’re honoured to present Kevin D’Aoust with a Chief’s Nickel Award for his professionalism, good judgment, and calming and reassuring presence while communicating with the woman over the course of the call. We also thank the rest of the ECC staff who were working alongside Kevin at the time and who supported him on this call and got the right resources to the woman, all while maintaining the demands of the ECC.

Our 911 ECC staff dedicate their lives to serving the public and ensuring community members’ safety. They are the calm voices in the storm; they are the unsung heroes. Thank you.

Email icon Back to Search