Carl W. Plath, Jr., saved Keith S. Trusso from suffocation, Wheaton, Maryland, March 27, 1965. Fire broke out in the basement of a split-level dwelling where Keith, 3, was taking a nap in a bedroom at the rear of the main-floor level. His mother tried to enter the dwelling to get Keith but was prevented from doing so by smoke and heat. Plath, 42, project engineer, was attracted. Learning the general location of Keith, Plath crawled into the front hall and ascended stairs to the main level. He continued crawling to a hall between the bedrooms. After entering one bedroom, he moved across the hall into another. He could see only three feet because of the smoke. Plath found Keith and, carrying him, crawled back into the hall, where smoke had become so dense that he could not see at all. Plath proceeded along the hall toward the front door and then noted flames at the hallway entrance. Heat and smoke were so intense that he retreated to one of the bedrooms. He broke a window and thrust Keith through the opening to a man outside. Plath then climbed out.
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