A Nova Scotia man who was recognized for his bravery in saving his neighbour from a house fire last year said he’s “overwhelmed with gratitude” but admitted he struggled with accepting the award.
“I had a really hard time figuring out how to have any kind of celebratory feeling with anything to do with the events of that night,” said Gerrid Hunt.
Hunt ran into a burning home in Lower Sackville in the early morning hours of Jan. 11, 2025, and pulled out his neighbour, Jermaine Loppie, who was later placed in a coma in hospital and awoke a few days later.
Loppie’s partner, Tanya Steiger, and their two-year-old daughter had managed to flee from the house.
But the fire claimed the lives of three children: Alauna, 9, Chloe, 6, and Cayson, 5.
Hunt was recognized Thursday with a Nova Scotia Medal of Bravery at a ceremony at Province House. Prior to the accepting the reward, he said he spoke to Loppie.
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“I was having a hard time internalizing those feelings. Like how do I have any kind of positive feeling that has anything to do with that, the events of that night?” he said.
“So I asked Jermaine to come over to my house and him and I had a good chat and I got his blessing … otherwise I wouldn’t be here, to be honest.”
In May 2025, Halifax Fire concluded their investigation into the blaze and said the cause was accidental, but noted the home lacked working smoke detectors.
Hunt said the past year has been tough as he struggles to sleep and his family deals with the trauma on a day-to-day basis.
“It’s a process. I’m still working through it, you know what I mean?” he said.
“My kids are resilient … but they’re still working through it through counselling and all that stuff, too.”
‘Heroes in every sense of the word’
Three other men were honoured with the Medal of Bravery during Thursday’s ceremony.
Richard MacPhee, Ryan O’Shea and Scott Rafuse helped in the search for two missing snowmobilers in the Cape Breton Highlands during a blizzard on Feb. 14, 2025.
“With conditions deteriorating and knowing the trails, they decided to search that evening. They found one of the men after a difficult search and assisted him until he was able to get to safety,” the province wrote in a release.
“They later joined the major search-and-rescue operation that was underway and helped find the other man.”
Premier Tim Houston called the all four recipients a “distinguished and distinct group of Nova Scotians.”
“Without just a second thought at all for your own needs in service of others and recognizing those acts of selflessness is important,” said Houston.
“We can’t imagine the stress that each of you must have also felt in those situations. And we recognize that today. And we thank you for being here today.”
Tom Steele, chair of the Nova Scotia Medal of Bravery’s advisory committee, said in his remarks that bravery takes on many forms: some dramatic, some quiet, and all meaningful.
“You are heroes in every sense of the word. You inspire us and you make this province proud,” he said.
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