John Allen Payne saved Ralph B. Payne from burning, Morgantown, West Virginia, December 9, 1967. Payne, 48, carpenter, was asleep in the living room of his one-story frame dwelling when a stove in the opposite corner of the room became overheated. Flames broke out on the roof around the chimney pipe and were noticed by John, 12, schoolboy, who lived next door. After reporting the fire to his parents, John ran to the burning house. He opened the front door and, peering beneath the smoke, saw Payne on the sofa. Flames were spreading in the living room, where the floor and walls near the stove were afire. John ran to Payne and, unable to rouse him, pulled him off the sofa. Squares of burning fiberboard from the ceiling fell near them as, moving around the flames on the floor near the stove, John dragged Payne 12 feet to the door. There John was met by his father, and together they took Payne away from the dwelling.
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