Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: May 4, 2006
• Invested on: October 13, 2006

Master-Corporal Michael Thomas Stanford, M.B., C.D.,
Medal of Bravery

On May 26, 2005, MCpl Michael Stanford rescued a man from a burning house at Canadian Forces Station St. John's in Newfoundland and Labrador. 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.