HMCS Toronto crew members are being hailed as heroes after rescuing people from a fire while on shore leave in Turkey.

“Six members of the crew provided first response to a fire and assisted in the evacuation of the building, saving lives,” the Department of National Defence said.

It all happened in Antalya, Turkey, on Friday.

The crew were in a restaurant when a fire broke out. Trained in fire fighting and first responding, they went to work.

“Two of the ship’s officers, Lt. Samuel Gaudreault and Lt. Daniel Willis, noticed that there was smoke coming from the second floor and, hearing cries for assistance from the second floor, grabbed available fire extinguishers and rushed to assist,” a DND spokesman said.

With Gaudreault and Willis, Leading Seaman Jean-Francois Martineau, Able Seaman Chris Richards, Master Cpl. Shirley Jardine and Cpl. Jody Boivin “hurried in” to assist in the evacuation, the spokesman said.

They used “the fire hose, rigged in the street outside the restaurant, to cool the structure and actually extinguished the fire.”

Once local crews were on scene, they all then returned to the ship.

“This once again demonstrates that our sailors are always ready to take on any challenge,” the spokesman said.

“We are very proud of the crew on board HMCS Toronto who are deployed in response to the ongoing situation in Ukraine,” Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said. “The courageous actions of our members who helped put out this fire once again demonstrate that the Canadian Armed Forces is ready for any challenge. Bravo Zulu.”

The Halifax-based frigate has been deployed since July as part of Operation Reassurance and took over from HMCS Regina, which was deployed in the spring, in response to the situation in Ukraine.