Ryan Thorburn won the 2016 Local Hero – Emergency Services award.for his work in the Comox Valley and internationally.
Photo by Karen McKinnon Photography
Ryan Thorburn’s career has taken him across the world to Tokyo and south to Haiti and Mexico.
The Comox Valley paramedic and G.P. Vanier grad has participated in countless activities to put to the Valley on the world stage, but he has also contributed to strengthening resources at home as well.
Because of this and more, Thorburn is receiving the top honour Local Hero award for Emergency Services.
“I have always had a way of just doing things that would not be possible without the support of my family. I don’t go out to be a hero, I go to help somebody accomplish something that they just needed a hand with,” he said.
Thorburn moved to the Comox Valley in 1985, and while finishing school and starting a construction business, he became a volunteer firefighter for the City of Courtenay in 1989 and joined the BC Ambulance service in a part-time capacity in 2004.
He credited his position as a volunteer firefighter as his introduction to emergency services.
“The camaraderie there was invaluable.”
In 2007, he assisted in the creation of the Comox Valley Volunteer Bike Squad – a unit that provides free medical coverage to events such as Nautical Days, the Canada Day parade and the Terry Fox Run.
In 2010, Thorburn volunteered with the Canadian Medical Assistance Teams, working in Haiti following their catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
In March 2011, following the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake (and ensuing tsunami) in Sendai, Japan, Thorburn was a member of CMAT’s rapid disaster assessment team, to assess the need for medical services.
In December 2015, he drove a donated ambulance full of wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and canes to El Tuito, Mexico – a village about an hour south of Puerto Vallarta – with the goal of helping residents with safe and comfortable medical transport.
Last year, Thorburn was recognized as one of the ‘Citizens of the Century’ by the City of Courtenay.
The Thorburn File
Age: 47
Workplace: Various locations around the world
Lives in: Comox Valley
Family: Wife, Janice; daughters, 23-year-old daughter, 19-year-old son.
Quotable: “ I don’t go out to be a hero, I go to help somebody accomplish something that they just needed a hand with.”
I am so proud of you, Ryan. All the Thorburn males who preceeded you would also be proud that their community minded spirit has been kept alive through you. Well done, son.
Ryan, you live a truly remarkable life. It is great to see that the community has recognized your compassion.