Medal of Bravery
Awarded on: 1999-09-02
Invested on: 2000-06-26
On November 8, 1998, 16-year-old Michael Laffin saved five members of his family from a house fire in Kingston, Nova Scotia. Mr. Laffin woke up in the middle of the night to find the kitchen engulfed in flames. Blinded by the toxic smoke, he grabbed his month-old niece who was sleeping nearby, wrapped her in a blanket and held her under his shirt. Coughing violently, he then raced through the house, shouting to alert the rest of his family, then led them outside just in time to escape the intensifying blaze which completely destroyed their home.