Donald E. Arthur saved Virginia I. Brooks from burning, Uniontown, Pennsylvania, March 1, 1990. Overcome by smoke, Miss Brooks, 42, lay on the floor of her second-floor apartment after fire broke out on the first floor and blocked the inside stairs. Arthur, 32, clerk in a nearby store, was alerted; he attempted to gain access to the apartments through the building’s front door, but the flames thwarted his efforts. Arthur then ran to the rear of the building, where two men hoisted him to the roof of a one-story extension. Arthur kicked in the kitchen window of Miss Brooks’s apartment, allowing three persons who were trapped there to escape. Learning that Miss Brooks was still inside, Arthur entered the kitchen through the window despite the increasing smoke and heat inside. Losing sight of the window, Arthur crawled toward the sound of Miss Brooks’s moaning, then located her. He secured a hold on her and, sliding across the floor, inched his way back to the window, dragging her. At the window, Arthur stood and, with help from others on the roof, removed Miss Brooks from the kitchen as firefighters arrived. Miss Brooks was hospitalized three days for treatment of second-degree burns to her face, and she recovered. Arthur recovered from minor injuries sustained during the rescue.
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