Oxford honors its young heroes

Janet Stoica 
Patriot Correspondent

At the March 27th Oxford Selectmen’s Meeting, three local heroes were honored by the Town as well as the State Fire Marshall’s office. During February school vacation week, a fire broke out in a duplex shared by the Tremblay family on George Street. Michael Tremblay, 11, and his brother, Arthur, 6, were home with their caregiver, Rebecca Shelton, when a loud noise in their second floor bathroom drew their attention to a fire that had broken out. Rebecca helped the boys notify their elderly neighbor of the fire.

Michael and Arthur used their recent education of the SAFE program to confirm the fire was restricted and that everyone evacuated safely. The SAFE program (Student Awareness of Fire Education) was presented to them in fire safety classes in Worcester before the family moved to Oxford. Fire Department Lieutenant Ken Sellers and a representative from the State Fire Marshal’s office made the presentations to the young heroes. The “Young Heroes” program was begun in 1995 by the Public Education Unit of the Department of Fire Services to honor admirable actions by young citizens who have participated in the local community’s SAFE program.