Claude Cleroux helped to save Bernard Genest from being crushed by debris, Montreal, Quebec, December 16, 1986. Genest, 51, was working on a furnace in an oil refinery when an explosion caused the furnace wall and other debris to fall. Genest was trapped by his arm in the space beneath the furnace wall, which, settling, threatened to crush him. Flames broke out nearby as pipes carrying flammable and noxious gases ruptured; escaping steam heated the atmosphere and impeded visibility. When the foreman of Genest’s crew, Cleroux, 50, insulator, went to the scene to make sure that it was evacuated, he found Genest. Despite the hostile environment, Cleroux went twice to a point underneath the unstable wreckage in attempts to pry away the debris that was pinning Genest’s arm. On a third attempt, he was joined by two refinery employees, and together they freed Genest. All left the scene safely. Genest suffered bruises to his arm, from which he recovered.
63362 – 7398
63362-7398