Paul R. Fazekas helped to save Jerome Soch and Mark Terborg from drowning, Ear Falls, Ontario, June 14, 1994. Soch, 56, and Terborg, 38, were thrown into Pakwash Lake when their boat overturned in the rough water. Fazekas, 41, senior fire officer for the province’s ministry of natural resources, was a passenger in a light helicopter flying over the lake when the pilot saw the accident. Electing to help in the men’s rescue, Fazekas and another employee of the ministry remained aboard the helicopter after the pilot landed nearby to discharge the other passengers. When the helicopter returned to the scene, the pilot maneuvered it to hover just above the overturned and pitching boat, to which the victims clung. Although it was a blustery day, the pilot maintained the helicopter’s position as Fazekas stepped onto one of its skids, reached down, and attempted to pull Soch aboard. When Soch fell back into the water, Fazekas left the helicopter and, from atop the overturned boat, again attempted to remove Soch from the lake. The boat flipped over, throwing Fazekas into the water. Fazekas helped Soch into the partially submerged boat and then into the helicopter, then did the same for Terborg before boarding the helicopter himself. The pilot flew Soch and Terborg to their camp, where they received treatment.
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