Henry Paul Silberman

Henry Paul Silberman saved Evelyn M. Clegg and Geraldine M. Culpepper from burning, Waverly Hall, Georgia, September 20, 1997. Ms. Clegg, 63, and her sister, Ms. Culpepper, 60, were inside Ms. Clegg’s one-story home when, in early morning, propane gas that had leaked into the house exploded and set fire to the structure. Ms. Clegg attempted to flee the house, but debris blocked the front door; Ms. Culpepper, who was visiting, was disoriented, and she screamed from a bedroom near the front door. A neighbor, Silberman, 42, manufacturing technician, witnessed the explosion and immediately ran to the scene. He dislodged the debris from the front door then pulled Ms. Clegg to safety. Despite flames quickly consuming the house, Silberman entered through the front door, located Ms. Culpepper in the bedroom, which was aflame, and pulled her to the front door. They exited the house to safety minutes before the house was engulfed by fire. Ms. Clegg and two others who also had escaped the house received hospital treatment for burns.