THE PRO PATRIA PROJECT

CARR Kevin

Lieutenant Commander, Royal New Zealand Navy

CITATION

The New Zealand Bravery Medal

Special Honours List 23 June 2014

When the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch on 22 February 2011, Lieutenant Commander Kevin Carr was working at the HMNZS Pegasus

Naval Reserve Personnel Division. After the majority of staff had left Pegasus to join their families, Lieutenant Commander Carr assumed command of the

small team remaining and instructed them to search the immediate area and offer assistance. When Carr heard of the extensive damage in the central city

he led a team of five into the city to support relief efforts. En route to the central city the team assisted trapped survivors in various buildings where they

were able.  At about 3.30pm Carr and his team arrived at the Canterbury Television building, which had collapsed in a “pancake” effect, and began a

12-hour rescue operation. Carr’s team faced significant danger from the fire burning within the building and beneath their feet, as well as persistent

aftershocks. Carr crawled several times into tight, dark and smoke-filled gaps in the building to search for survivors. On one occasion part of the roof he

was standing on collapsed and he fell part way into the hole that was created. Carr suffered a leg wound at this point but managed to free himself, and

he continued to provide leadership for his team in a determined effort to rescue as many people as possible. Carr’s team managed to lift a section of the

roof to see if any survivors were present in the fire-affected area of the building. The heat and the flames finally forced the team to withdraw.

KNOWN AWARDS

New Zealand Bravery Medal

NOTES

Born 1972 England

Died 15 January 2018 Christchurch, New Zealand

Cremated no known grave