Clifford L. Armstrong, 41, mechanic, rescued Claude N. Young, 47, chemical dealer, from burning, Ontario, California, August 14, 1953. Young was in a workroom at the rear of a one-story frame building and was mixing a chemical compound which caught fire and ignited his shirt. As he ran to a nearby washroom and turned on a shower, extinguishing the fire on his shirt, a violent chemical explosion blew out the walls and demolished most of the building. Young was pinned to the floor by a heavy timber and buried in debris five feet deep. Gusts of flame about three feet high broke out in the debris. Armstrong ran 500 feet to the building and entered the ruins. Guided by Young’s calls for help, he cleared away two timbers and found an opening three feet square at floor level. Holding his breath, he crawled four feet into the opening. The debris was afire within inches of Armstrong, and heat was intense. Smoke was dense, and Armstrong could not see Young and withdrew briefly for air. Again crawling into the opening, he reached Young and with difficulty jerked him free of the debris. He backed from the opening pulling Young, and they ran from the ruins. Firemen extinguished the flames. Young suffered severe burns and deep arm lacerations but recovered. Armstrong’s face, arms, chest, and back were reddened; and his hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes were singed. 42951-3930
42951 – 3930
42951-3930