Father, daughter receive award for rescuing man from burning home 32 years ago

A father and daughter have received the Red Cross Rescuer Award more than 30 years after saving a man from his burning home on North Tryon, P.E.I.

George Wood and Crystal Wood Carr received the award Tuesday from Lt.-Gov. Antoinette Perry.

The Canadian Red Cross Rescuer Award is a framed certificate that acknowledges the efforts of non-professional rescuers or off-duty first responders who go out of their way to save a life, prevent further injury and/or provide comfort to the injured. It can also be awarded to children who provide help that may be a simple as calling 911. There is no time limit for when awards can be given provided the facts of the incident can be verified. 

Wood Carr was driving home late one night in December 1989 when she saw smoke coming from the house of her neighbour, Walter Bell.

With no cellphone at the time, she drove to her parent's house, yelled for her mother to call the fire department and then she and her father drove back to the Bell property. 

"Dad had done some plumbing at Walter's house so he kind of knew the layout so he started going in the back porch area and so I just crouched down," Wood Carr said.

"There was a lot of smoke so we kind of went down on our hands and knees and crawled in and luckily Walter was right there ... so basically we bumped into him which probably thank goodness he made it there cause I don't know how we would have found him because it was so much smoke at that point."

They carried Bell out of the house and through two feet of snow in the driveway where they put him in their car.

"It took both of us to haul him out. Walter wasn't a little man," Wood Carr said.

They waited for the firefighters to arrive then drove Bell to a relative's house in Crapaud.

"Then we went home and went to bed. Just probably didn't think much about … just took it in stride."

The Rescuer Award nomination was made in late 2019 by Hazel Robinson of the North Tryon Historical Association.