F. Jeanne Davis, 35, meat wrapper, saved William J. Schultz, four, from burning, Norfolk, Virginia, December 25, 1958. When fire broke out in the living room of a two-story dwelling, William, who was asleep in an upstairs bedroom, was awakened during the early morning hours by the smoke and screamed for help. Mrs. Davis was attracted from her home nearby and, clad only in pajamas and a light coat, entered the unlighted home. She ran past a burning sofa and ascended the stairs, shouting to awaken William’s father and three other children, aged six to eight. She reached William’s room, the door of which had been tied shut to prevent him from stealing downstairs to see his Christmas gifts. Mrs. Davis forced the door open slightly, squeezed into the darkened room, and located William. After William had crawled out through the door opening, Mrs. Davis followed and led him down the stairs. In the living room the flames had spread to most of the furnishings and the front door. Heat was intense, and the smoke was dense and acrid. Holding William beneath her coat, Mrs. Davis began crawling over the rug, which was burning in places, toward the door. Choking from the smoke and unable to see, she reached the wall beneath the windows, from which burning pieces of curtains fell on her. With difficulty Mrs. Davis groped her way to the door but could not open it because the knob had begun to melt. She screamed. A man outside opened the door and aided Mrs. Davis and William through it. Meanwhile another man had climbed to the porch roof and aided William’s brother through a window, while William’s father had dropped his two daughters from another window to persons below. Firemen arrived and removed the men with the aid of a ladder. William was not burned. Mrs. Davis suffered from burns to her hands and face and effects of the smoke. She was hospitalized but recovered.
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