Edward T. Durant, 50, teacher, helped to save Catherine A. Bartolomeo, 44, and her four children, 6 to 15, from drowning, Unionville, Connecticut, August 19, 1955. When heavy rains caused dams to burst in the Farmington River upstream from the residential area in which they lived, Mrs. Bartolomeo and her four children were stranded on the porch of their home in rapidly rising flood-waters. Durant and another man pushed a rowboat which had no oars through water three feet deep to the house and, with the Bartolomeos in the boat, continued pushing it 200 feet through swift current to an abandoned truck. As the water continued to rise they waited at the truck until Albert T. Leone arrived in a motorboat. When the motor failed and could not be restarted, Leone then waited with the others while several persons tried to reach them with ropes but were forced to turn back because of the strong current. Soon after the other man had made his way with difficulty to a railroad embankment, Durant and Leone realized that the rising water soon would capsize the boat. They removed all of their clothing except their underwear and prepared to help the Bartolomeos to a house 100 feet away. As considerable debris was carried past in the current the boat capsized and the two men aided the Bartolomeos to the house, where the water was within a foot of the eaves. As all seven persons climbed onto the roof Durant momentarily was wedged against the house by floating debris. An hour later the house was swept away and carried 350 feet into some trees. Shortly thereafter Mrs. Bartolomeo and three of the children were aided to land by holding a rope lowered to each of them from a helicopter. The roof of the house then broke apart, leaving Durant, Leone, and Yolanda, 6, on a section of rooftop, which was swept into deep water. The rooftop was carried swiftly under the collapsed framework of a railroad bridge and, battered by floating debris, was reduced in size to 10 feet square. As it passed a large tree, Durant clung to a limb as the rooftop was swept under him, carrying Leone and Yolanda 400 feet farther into another group of trees. Using boards from the debris, Leone then constructed a small platform in the tree and tied Yolanda to it. He told her that he would bring help and then started to swim. Although struck various times by debris, Leone managed to keep from being submerged. He rested once momentarily at another tree, where he found an innertube among the debris. After swimming more than a mile with the innertube, Leone reached dry land, where he secured dry clothing and then accompanied a helicopter pilot on a three-hour search, afterwards learning that Durant had been found. Yolanda was located the next morning after the water had receded. Mrs. Bartolomeo sustained back injuries, and Robert and Joseph suffered bruises. All recovered. Ann and Yolanda suffered no ill effects. Durant was tired and sustained bruises but recovered. 43807-4047
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