James R. Chapman rescued Jesse E. and Michael D. Poland from burning, Edmonton, Alberta, November 16, 1989. Poland, 23, and his son Jesse, 4, were unconscious in a bedroom of their mobile home after fire broke out in the living room. A neighbor, Chapman, 28, railroad foreman, saw flames and called the fire department. Arriving at the scene and learning that the mobile home was occupied, Chapman entered it through a window in the master bedroom. Heat in the bedroom was blistering, and dense smoke precluded visibility. Discovering Jesse on the floor, Chapman handed him outside to others. Chapman then turned and searched the room, locating Poland about eight feet from the window. He grasped Poland, took him to the window, and handed him outside, then exited himself. Knowing that Poland’s daughter was still inside the mobile home, Chapman re-entered through the window and searched for her but was forced out when the bedroom floor caught fire and began to collapse. Poland and Jesse were hospitalized for extensive burns. Chapman was treated at the hospital for minor burns and lacerations to his hands, and he recovered.
64610 – 7536
64610-7536