Bruce A. Baxter, about 72, died Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
In 2008, Baxter, then 58, rescued an elderly woman from burning in
Petaluma, California. The 87-year-old woman was in the living room of her
doublewide mobile home after an accidental fire broke out in that room. Her
next-door neighbor, Baxter was alerted to the fire by the structure’s smoke
alarm. He responded to the scene, gained entry through the front door, and
saw the woman, whose attire was aflame, sitting on a couch in the far end of
the living room. He crossed the smoky room to her, lifted her from the couch,
and patted out the flames on her attire. Grasping her, Baxter ushered her to the
front door and outside to safety as flames spread quickly to engulf that end of
the mobile home, destroying it. The woman was hospitalized for treatment of
severe burns and died of her injuries two months later.
Baxter worked as an accountant.