FARMINGTON — Three first responders and a teacher were recognized at Tuesday’s Farmington Select Board meeting for saving the life of a man on Front Street earlier this month.
Farmington Police Chief Kenneth Charles presented the Lifesaving Award to Officer Ariana Bacon and Sgt. Jonathan Parker of the Farmington Police Department, and to Sgt. Marc Bowering of the University of Maine at Farmington’s Department of Public Safety.
Mackenzie Campbell, a teacher at UMF’s Sweatt-Winter Child Care and Early Education Center, was also honored but was not present. Charles said she will receive her award at a later date.
Charles said the award was “in recognition of their quick response, decisive actions and unwavering commitment to the health and safety of our community.”
When police arrived, they found Campbell performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a 73‑year‑old man who was unresponsive. Bacon took over CPR when she reached the scene.
Parker used his automated external defibrillator on the man. Bowering, Parker and Bacon continued CPR until emergency medical services personnel transported him to the hospital.
Dr. Jodi Conrad, medical director of emergency medical services at MaineHealth Franklin Hospital, called the recipients “heroes” and said their intervention allowed the man to spend his final days with his loved ones.
She noted that survival rates in CPR cases are typically less than 5 percent.
“You all truly performed a miracle,” Conrad said.
After the presentation, the Select Board turned to regular business.
The board accepted an $88,552 bid from Quirk Ford of Augusta for two 2026 Ford Police Interceptor sport utility vehicles for the Farmington Police Department. The department sent out seven requests for proposals and received two responses.
Charles noted that the department will need to spend an additional $20,000 to outfit each vehicle. He said the department has struggled to reuse equipment from older cruisers because body styles have changed over the years. The cost of a fully outfitted cruiser is about $65,000.
Farmington’s equipment plan calls for cruisers to be replaced about every seven years, or at roughly 120,000 miles. The department maintains a fleet of 14 vehicles.
The board approved the sale, through an online auction, of two old police department vehicles — one cruiser with mechanical issues and a pickup truck. Proceeds from the sale will go into the department’s vehicle capital reserve.
According to Charles’ report to the board, the department’s roster of patrol officers is now fully staffed with the hiring of Alexander Munsell of Turner. Charles wrote that he expects the department’s final vacancy, a detective position, to be filled soon.
