Red Deer Advocate, October 21, 2015

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DISSECTING A TRAILER How ‘Star Wars’ explains the great cultural debates of our time

clobbers Toronto 14-2 SPORTS — PAGE B4

PAGE C4

Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21, 2015

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Heroism in action LACOMBE FAMILY GRATEFUL CONST. JOHN HUBBARD CHARGED INTO A BURNING BUILDING TO RESCUE THEM

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

ABOVE: City of Lacombe Const. John Hubbard holds one-year-old Holly McKim as her parents, Danielle Collins and Don McKim, look on. Hubbard entered the burning four-plex in Lacombe early Sunday morning to locate McKim and his daughter on the second floor of the house, which was filling with smoke and flames. Contributed photo

RIGHT: Lacombe firefighters aggressively attack the burning units of the fourplex while Lacombe Police and EMS stand by. “It was pretty scary. We started the day just beautifully celebrating her first birthday. Family and friends were over, we had a nice beautiful day, and it ended in a nightmare.” But hang on — Don McKim’s nightmare actually turned into a miracle, thanks to the bravery of Lacombe Police officer Const. John Hubbard. McKim, 46, is talking about last Saturday when he and his wife, Danielle Collins, 43, celebrated their daughter Holly’s first birthday a day earlier than the day it actually fell. If it

MARY-ANN BARR

BARRSIDE

WEATHER

INDEX

Increasing cloudiness. High 15. Low 4.

Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business . . . . . . . B1-B3 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . D1-D2 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . . C4, C6 Sports . . . . . . . . . B4-B6

FORECAST ON A2

hadn’t been for Hubbard, the family of three, who were residing in a rented fourplex, in the 5400 block of 45th Street in Lacombe, would have perished in a fire on Holly’s birthday, McKim said Tuesday. On Saturday night, McKim had watched the Oilers win their first game of the season and gone to sleep at about 11 p.m. “All of a sudden Danielle was awakened by some knocking. And all of a sudden, bang! bang! … she got up and scurried down the stairs. She got about halfway down the stairs and

she started smelling the smoke and she yelled ‘Fire!’ And she proceeded down the stairs to open the door.” “I just started to get out of bed and all of a sudden the smoke just started billowing. I got disoriented … Constable John Hubbard, he was the one who was knocking, and when my wife answered, he directed her immediately out. My wife told him her husband and daughter were upstairs still. (Hubbard) ran right in up the stairs — I met him at the top of the stairs. “You know, I’m still trying to figure things out. It was that quick, and (Hubbard) said ‘Get out now!’ I said my daughter’s down the hallway, he ran down the hallway, and the fire was coming in (Holly’s) room.”

McKim said the police officer grabbed Holly “and I’m just about at the bottom of the stairs and he beat me out with my daughter. He wrapped her in a couple blankets … I was right behind him. He handed her off to my wife and as we came out on the front steps the whole roof atop was just in flames.” The fire in the fourplex had started in a different unit attached to the McKim-Collins residence. The cause has not yet been determined. The couple had working fire detectors but McKim doesn’t believe they went off until they were nearly outside.

Please see RESCUE on Page A2

Trudeau sends message to Canada’s allies abroad Justin Trudeau made a triumphant return to the nation’s capital Tuesday and immediately began setting a new tone. Story on PAGE A5

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