Daniel Douville saved Cédrik Blanchette and Maxime Desjardins from burning, Laval, Quebec, May 16, 1999. At night, Cédrik, 3, and his brother, Maxime, 8, and cousin, 4, were in bedrooms of a third-floor apartment after fire erupted in the living room. A resident of the apartment below them, Douville, 29, insulation specialist, was alerted and immediately responded to the burning apartment’s back door, which opened to the outside. Douville entered the kitchen and through dense smoke proceeded to Cédrik’s bedroom, which opened just off the burning living room. Finding Cédrik asleep in bed, Douville picked the boy up and, flames issuing over his head, retraced his steps to the kitchen, off which Maxime’s bedroom opened. Douville entered that room and found Maxime standing just inside. Maxime followed Douville, still carrying Cédrik, from the bedroom, then out of the apartment through its back door. Only then learning that the cousin remained inside the apartment, Douville re-entered the kitchen, but worsening conditions thwarted his further rescue efforts. Firefighters arrived shortly to find flames issuing from the back door, and they recovered the cousin’s body. Cédrik received hospital treatment for smoke inhalation, and he recovered. Douville sustained minor burns, and he recovered as well.
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