By John Stewart
The Mississauga News
Copyright 2008 The Mississauga News
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Don’t try to pin the “hero” word on 27-year-old Patrick Chatelain of Mississauga.
Even though he may well have saved several lives early Sunday morning when he jumped out of his westbound vehicle, grabbed his fire extinguisher, and crossed a highway median to put out a fire in a van that had been carrying seven young men coming home from a night on the town in Mississauga.
Chatelain, a full-time Peel paramedic by day and a Canadian Forces reserve medic in his spare time, dealt with the blazing vehicle, then began to provide emergency care to four young men who were thrown out of the vehicle and suffered severe injuries in a crash. They weren’t wearing seatbelts, police say.
“It’s something we do every day of the week,” Chatelain, who has lived in Canada since he moved her from France in 1988, told The News this morning. “There are 6,000 paramedics in Ontario and 1,000 medics in the reserve and the fact that this gets a little more publicity doesn’t detract from the work they do every day.”
Full Story: Medic provides quick help while off-duty