John C. Gorey saved Joseph F. Dietz from burning, Avon, Ohio, June 28, 1990. Dietz, 30, was asleep in the living room of his house when fire broke out in the adjoining kitchen and filled the house with dense smoke. He woke and attempted to crawl from the house but, disoriented, then shouted for help. A neighbor, Gorey, 32, pipe coverer, heard Dietz and went to his front door. He attempted to crawl into the house twice, but the smoke and intense heat forced him out both times. On his third attempt, Gorey crawled to Dietz, who was semi-conscious on the living room floor. He grasped Dietz and, crawling backward, dragged him outside to safety. Dietz was hospitalized two days for smoke inhalation, and he recovered. Gorey recovered from minor smoke inhalation and cuts to his right hand.
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