Richmond mom recalls compassionate encounter with firefighters

A scary Tuesday morning for a Richmond mom and her son ended with a heartwarming encounter with Richmond Fire-Rescue.

Jasnique Gill-Nahal had just shut the car door after putting her two-year-old son Sehj Nahal into the car seat when she realized she couldn’t open the door to the driver’s seat.

“[My son] took my key. I didn’t realize he actually pressed the lock button,” said Gill-Nahal.

“I put my keys back in my handbag, which was on the front seat of my car. And you know, my phone, my laptop ⁠— absolutely everything was in there.”

The panic set in immediately ⁠— it was a sunny day and the car could get too hot if she didn’t get Nahal out quick enough, and she had to get to work for a meeting. Her husband, who was working in Burnaby, was too far away to help.

“I was completely losing it. My legs were like jelly, I couldn’t breathe, I was having a panic attack,” recalled Gill-Nahal. “It was a worst-case scenario.”

Luckily, her neighbours came to her rescue and advised her to call 911. Gill-Nahal also tried to get roadside assistance, but she was in line behind 27 people.

“[BCAA] say they’ve got somebody who’s on their way in 15 minutes, and they still didn’t turn up in 15 minutes. But the fire department, they made it happen… No waiting around, they’re just there,” she said.

Her son had started crying as they had been trying to unlock the door for almost an hour before Richmond Fire-Rescue arrived, which was “really hard” for Gill-Nahal to watch.

Firefighters arrived within five to seven minutes after she called 911 and calmly unlocked the car door for her.

“They’re so reliable. It’s just incredible… And given how stressful the situation was at that time… You couldn’t tell! Their energy was so calm,” said Gill-Nahal.

Nahal had stopped crying as soon as he saw the firetruck, and he was gifted a stuffed puppy that the family decided to name Lock to commemorate the heartwarming encounter. The stuffed puppy, the firefighters told Nahal, had also gotten stuck in a firetruck.

“[The Richmond Fire-Rescue officers] are role models for our community. I just feel so safe around them! So I just wanted to really celebrate them,” said Gill-Nahal.

And much to her surprise, Gill-Nahal also managed to get to her meeting with time to spare.