By Katie Northcott, News Director
At the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting on Tuesday, Mar. 3, Sergeant Benton Brown received the “Life Saving Award” for alerting a family to a fire in their residence.
“I need to do a better job of recognizing our officers when they do something above and beyond, and Sergeant Brown recently did,” said Adam Floied, Manchester Chief of Police.
On Feb. 9, Brown noticed a tuft of smoke while he and other officers were staging for a funeral escort. Investigating the source of the smoke, Brown discovered a structure fire at the rear of a house on Powell Road and alerted the occupants of the house to the fire.
Floied said the occupants were not aware that the residence was on fire when Brown alerted them. Brown ensured that all of the occupants exited the residence and alerted the Manchester Fire Department. He evacuated three adults, a toddler, and two dogs.
“Sergeant Brown’s decisive action occurred just moments before flames broke through and began shooting from the attic space,” Floied said. “Given the speed at which the fire spread, exacerbated by strong gusting winds, there’s little doubt that his alertness and willingness to act prevent potential loss of life.”
The fire began at the back of the house. Manchester Fire Department Chief George Chambers estimated that about a quarter of the house was damaged in the fire and said that the rest of the house was saved.
Find Peterson Media Group’s initial reporting on the structure fire here.
