St. John’s military police officer to receive Medal of Bravery

By Holly Bridges

Master-Corporal Mike Stanford, an air reservist, will receive the prestigious medal for rescuing a man from a burning house last year.

A Military Police Officer posted to St. John’s, Newfoundland will receive the Medal of Bravery from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, at a ceremony at Rideau Hall on Friday, October 13.

Master-Corporal Mike Stanford, an air reservist, will receive the prestigious medal for rescuing a man from a burning house last year.  The citation for the presentation has been released by Rideau Hall and reads as follows:

On May 26, 2005, MCpl Michael Stanford rescued a man from a burning house at Canadian Forces Station St. John’s in Newfoundland. Alerted to the fire, MCpl Stanford entered the house to look for occupants but was quickly forced out by the heavy smoke. Using a curtain to cover his mouth and nose, he re-entered the dwelling, where he heard the victim calling from upstairs, but the flames and choking fumes drove him out again. Undeterred, he went back inside and, shouting and banging his baton on the walls, instructed the victim to follow the noise. Through thick smoke, the man located MCpl Stanford at the bottom of the stairs, and both escaped to safety. In spite of the spreading fire, MCpl Stanford raced back inside several times to search for other occupants wrongly believed to be in the home.

In nominating MCpl Stanford for the medal, his boss, Major Rod Long, Flight Commander of Air Reserve Flight Torbay, Newfoundland said, “Eyewitnesses undoubtedly attribute the hasty, courageous and extremely brave acts of MCpl Stanford to saving the life of Mr. Jeremy Lee.  For his actions on this day, MCpl Stanford is extremely deserving of and is nominated for the Medal of Bravery.”

MCpl Stanford will be joined by two other Air Force members at the medal presentation ceremony, Sergeant Steeve Bédard and Master Corporal Dan Villeneuve, both Search and Rescue Technicians - Sgt Bédard will receive the Star of Courage while MCpl Villeneuve will receive his second Medal of Bravery for a rescue off les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec in 2005.

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