OXFORD – Two men who rescued children from a burning home last fall will be honored next Friday by the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.
Raymond Reece and Oxford Patrolman Alan Coffin were nominated for the honor by Oxford Police Chief Ronald Kugell, he confirmed this week.
The men responded when a fire broke out just before 2 a.m. Nov. 2 in a mobile home in the Oxford Pines Trailer Park.
Coffin suffered smoke inhalation and lacerations after rescuing Shawn Bennett, 7, son of Kathy Bennett and Neil Gephart, from a bedroom window. The boy, a second-grader at Oxford Elementary School, later died of smoke inhalation.
While Coffin was rescuing the boy, Reece rescued his 11-month-old sister, Andrea Bennett. Reece reached through her bedroom window and pulled her crib close enough to the window to grab the child.
Each year the Maine Chiefs of Police Awards Committee selects citizens, fellow police chiefs and officers for distinguished honors.
The two men were also honored by the Oxford Fire Department and by local legislators.
The awards ceremony will take place in South Portland during the association’s winter meeting.
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