Harold Terry saved Jamal L. Jackson from burning, Flint, Michigan, July 29, 2002. Jamal, 8, and his brother were in the basement of their grandparents’ home after fire erupted in the kitchen, on the ground floor, at night and blocked access to the basement stairs. Men broke out a basement window and pulled the brother from the house, but they could not see Jamal. Terry, 25, was one of two state police officers who responded to the scene. When he learned that Jamal remained inside the basement, he entered it through the window, feet first, and dropped to the floor. Terry used a flashlight, but dense smoke limited visibility to only a foot. Jamal cried at first, and Terry crawled toward the source of that sound. He found Jamal, who was then unconscious, about 12 feet into the basement. Grasping and pulling Jamal, Terry crawled backward to the wall containing the window. He stood there and handed Jamal through the window to the other officer before climbing out of the basement through the same window. Jamal was hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation, and he recovered.
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