SKOWHEGAN – A University of Maine at Farmington student and her four-year-old son were seriously injured in a fire that destroyed their home in Skowhegan Friday night.
According to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, as of Monday morning Tyler Curtis-Benson, 4, “is showing improvement at the Shriner’s Hospital in Boston, but that is not the case for his mother, 24-year-old Andrea Curtis.” She is being treated at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Emergency crews were called to the fire at a mobile home on North Avenue around 8:30 p.m. Friday. Skowhegan Police Officer Timothy Williams pulled Curtis and her son from the fire. Mother and son suffered extensive burns and smoke inhalation. Williams, who is credited with saving their lives, was treated for smoke inhalation.
UMF officials confirmed Curtis is a senior in the Elementary Education program in an email sent out to notify the campus community on Monday morning.
“Please keep in your thoughts Andrea Curtis, UMF senior in Elementary Education, and her four-year-old son Tyler who were in a devastating house fire on Friday evening in Skowhegan,” wrote UMF’s president, Kathryn Foster.
The state’s Fire Marshal’s Office investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, McCausland.
A GoFundMe page here has been set up to help the family.
So sad! I hope both recover and are reunited by Christmas.
Praying for their full recovery and Thank you, Tim. The police, sheriff and all first responders are always
in my prayers. Your quick actions surely saved the lives of this young family.
Carol