Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers, left, presents Firefighter Leonard Minish with the Governor General’s Commendation for Bravery during a ceremony at city hall on Dec. 8, 2025. (City of Lloydminster/Facebook)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

BRAVERY

‘Without hesitation’: Lloydminster firefighter recognized with national honour for off-duty rescue

Dec 11, 2025 | 3:46 PM

On a quiet winter morning nearly five years ago, when most of Lloydminster was still asleep, a flicker of orange rose above a cul-de-sac on the Alberta side of the border.

It was just after 6 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2021, when flames began chewing their way up the exterior of a two-storey home, racing into the garage and swallowing the top floor.

Inside, two people and their pets slept unaware of what was unfolding outside their walls.

Just a few houses down, off-duty firefighter Leonard Minish saw the danger before anyone else did. And before the first sirens could pierce the silence, Minish made a decision that would later draw the attention of Canada’s Governor General.

He ran toward the fire.

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A rescue born from instinct and proximity

During a presentation at Monday’s Governance and Priorities Committee meeting, Fire Chief Bill Heesing commended that heroic act.

“He recognized the situation and proceeded without hesitation for his own safety to enter through the front door of the home and provide a courageous rescue of the two occupants and their pets,” he said.

“With bravery and persistence, knowing that he may have been seriously injured, the risk was worth it to save another person’s life, and in this instance, his two neighbours.”

For his actions that morning, Minish was awarded the Governor General’s Commendation for Bravery – a distinction created in 1993 to honour “acts of selflessness in hazardous circumstances.”

More than 4,000 people have received the commendation since its creation. The commendation may be awarded to Canadians or non-Canadians whose selfless actions “merit recognition as having been performed in the interest of Canada.”

Mayor Gerald Aalbers presented Minish with the certificate, calling the moment significant for the community.

“It just speaks so much to the individuals in our community. People volunteer each and every day, and that’s the kind of volunteer you just don’t plan to step up for.”

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com