National Firefighter Appreciation Day

The ceremony usually takes place during Fire Prevention Week held every year during the week of October 9.

In 2023, the ceremony will be held on Sunday, October 15, in Quebec city.

Conditions to be nominated for a decoration

The candidate was a member of a Québec fire department when he or she performed the act serving as the basis for the nomination. The candidate could be:

• A person tasked with fire fighting for a brigade or a municipal, industrial, or military department, a Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) department, or another fire department.
• A first responder, within the meaning of the Act respecting pre-hospital emergency services (CQLR, c. S-6.2), working for a fire department established by a local or regional authority or by an intermunicipal board.

The nomination must be submitted by one of the following authorities:

• Local authority
• Regional authority
• Intermunicipal board
• Anyone with authority over a member of a fire department.
• The nomination proposal form must be duly completed by the competent authority.

Conditions to be nominated for a citation

• The candidate can be a person (e.g., a private citizen, a preventionist, a stakeholder from the police community, a firefighter, a member of a prehospital emergency service, or 9-1-1) or an organization.
• The nomination proposal form must be duly completed and can be submitted by any person or organization. However, a person may not nominate itself.

Criteria selected for assessing nominations are the following:

Honours that can be awarded solely to a member of a fire department

Croix de courage (cross of courage)

• Life at risk
• Difficulty encountered
• Nature of the work
• Persistence and tenacity during the action
• Awareness of the danger
• Technical assistance

Médaille pour acte méritoire (medal for meritorious act)

• Leadership
• Working conditions during the intervention
• Nature of the work
• Responsibilities assumed
• Mental efforts
• Physical efforts

Médaille du sacrifice (medal of sacrifice)

• Died in the line of duty
• Difficulty encountered
• Nature of the work
• Persistence and tenacity during the action
• Awareness of the danger

Honours that can be awarded to any person or organization having distinguished themselves in fire safety

Citation d’honneur (honour citation)

• Commitment
• Outreach
• Nature of the contribution
• Achievement

Citation de reconnaissance (recognition citation)

• Role
• Commitment level
• Spontaneity and selflessness

The nomination period has begun. Nominations must be submitted no later than March 23, 2023.

Download the nomination form

By email : soutien-incendie@msp.gouv.qc.ca

By mail :
Secrétaire du Comité sur les décorations et les citations
Décernées en matière de sécurité incendie et pour des activités de secours
Direction de la sécurité incendie
Ministère de la Sécurité publique
Tour du Saint-Laurent, 6e étage
2525, boulevard Laurier
Québec (Québec) G1V 2L2

Nomination review process

For each nomination received, the Ministère de la Sécurité publique ensures that the form is duly completed and that the candidate is eligible. Nominations that do not include enough information are not eligible since no requests for additional information are made.

The Committee respecting decorations and citations awarded in the field of fire safety and for rescue activities will assess each eligible nomination and forward its recommendations to the Minister of Public Security, who makes the final decision regarding the bestowal of a decoration or a citation.

Composition of the nomination review committee

The Committee respecting decorations and citations awarded in the field of fire safety and for rescue activities is composed of the following people:

• A representative from the Ministère de la Sécurité publique
• A person from associations representing chiefs of fire departments established by a local or regional authority or by an intermunicipal board
• Two people from associations representing members of fire departments established by a local or regional authority or by an intermunicipal board
• Two people from associations representing local or regional authorities
• A representative of members of fire departments that are not established by a local or regional authority or by an intermunicipal board.

The information provided is collected in order to assess the eligibility of the candidate for a decoration or a citation as stipulated in the Regulation respecting decorations and citations awarded in the field of fire safety and for rescue activities and will only be used for this purpose.

The information will be disclosed to the Committee respecting decorations and citations awarded in the field of fire safety and for rescue activities, to its secretary, and to the Minister of Public Security, in order to study candidacy files and then to support the committee's recommendations to the minister regarding the best candidates to receive decorations and citations. The minister will make the final choice of recipients.

Certain information could be brought to the attention of the public and the media as an expression of our gratitude and our recognition toward recipients who performed exceptional acts.

Information provided can be used for purposes of evaluation and verification.

For any inquiries, please contact the secretary of the nomination review committee
by email at soutien-incendie@msp.gouv.qc.ca,