James A. VanderLinden died after attempting to save Matthew J. VanderLinden from burning, Kennewick, Washington, May 16, 1993. Matthew, 2, and his older brother shared the bedroom of a mobile home in which fire broke out early in the morning. The brother alerted their parents, who were asleep in the opposite end of the mobile home. Their father, VanderLinden, 21, car wash manager, immediately ran to the boys’ room, which was engulfed in flame, and entered it. He emerged, badly burned, just before Matthew was found in the living room. The family fled the mobile home. Matthew required hospital treatment for minor smoke inhalation, from which he recovered. VanderLinden was hospitalized for severe burns to more than 90 percent of his body and died of effects of the ordeal two days later.
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