Mayor and Fire Chief to present certificate of bravery

A 15-year-old Orillia woman is being presented a certificate of bravery for her actions that helped save a man who went through the ice on his snowmobile on March 23, 2014.

Mayor Angelo Orsi and Orillia Fire Chief Ralph Dominelli will present the certificate to Jenna Roberts at Council on Monday April 14.

In the early morning of March 23, Roberts, who lives on Couchiching Point in Orillia, was awake watching a movie when she heard a noise coming from the lake. She looked outside and saw nothing and went back to her movie. A short time later, she heard another noise. Roberts went to her backyard and heard a man screaming – she knew he was in trouble.

What: Certificate of bravery presentation

When: April 14, 2014
7 p.m. (Beginning of Council meeting)

Where: City Centre - Council Chamber
50 Andrew St. S.

Roberts ran upstairs and woke her mother, who then called 9-1-1. While her mother was speaking to the emergency operator, Roberts went outside, turned on the lights at the end of the property and yelled to the man that help was on the way.

Members of the Orillia Fire Department proceeded with ice water rescue equipment onto the lake and were able to retrieve the man. The man broke through unsafe ice on his snowmobile after becoming disoriented and lost in the dark.

“When the fire fighters retrieved the man, he was extremely hypothermic and within minutes of losing his life,” said Dominelli. “If it weren’t for the quick thinking and actions of this young lady, he would not be with us today.”

The City of Orillia is a city of 30,586 people in the heart of Central Ontario on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website at orillia.ca.

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Ralph Dominelli
Orillia Fire Chief
705-325-2412
rdominelli@orillia.ca

Jennifer Ruff
Manager of Communications
City of Orillia
705-325-8929
705-238-9209 (cell)
jruff@orillia.ca