Andy Daniel Wilkins helped to save Raymond Cech and James W. Hamlin from suffocation, West Chicago, Illinois, June 24, 1967. While using a strong solvent to clean the interior of a large tank 108 feet above ground level, Cech, 24, and Hamlin, 25, painters, were affected by the fumes. Cech fell unconscious on the bottom of the tank, where there was a wide area of slippery fluid. Hamlin was almost unconscious but was able to signal for help and to crawl to the center of the tank to the four-foot opening of a riser which extended to the ground. A blower at ground level was pumping air up the riser. The supervisor of Cech and Hamlin heard the signal, ascended a ladder inside the riser, and noted the situation. He then climbed a ladder inside the tank, emerged through a two-foot manhole in the top, and called for assistance. A man on the ground obtained an oxygen kit and hoisted it to the supervisor, who then re-entered the tank. Wilkins, 56, maintenance department chief, and Robert Wayne Levey, Sr., with a larger oxygen kit, ran to a ladder attached to one of the legs that supported the tank. Heavy rain was falling as they climbed to the top of the tank and entered it through the manhole. The supervisor was administering oxygen to Cech, and air from the riser had begun to revive Hamlin. Conditions inside the tank were improving, but the supervisor was feeling dizzy. While Wilkins administered oxygen to Cech from the larger kit, the supervisor climbed onto the to of the tank. Levey and Wilkins began to feel dizzy. Making sure that Cech was receiving the oxygen from the kit, they climbed out for air. The supervisor then re-entered the tank and found that Hamlin was fully conscious but weak. Their dizziness having passed, Wilkins and Levey also re-entered the tank. By then Cech had regained consciousness. Levey climbed back onto the top of the tank and lowered a rope to those inside. It was tied around Hamlin, and he climbed out. The rope then was tied to Cech. The supervisor climbed the ladder behind Cech, aiding him in his ascent. Wilkins followed. All five men were removed from atop the tank by firemen.
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