John Michael Lux, 27, apprentice machinist, rescued Jennifer M. Peters, 3, from burning, Godfrey, Illinois, May 22, 1968. Jennifer’s father was cleaning furniture with gasoline in the family room in the basement of a one-story frame dwelling when the fumes ignited, filling the room with flames. Lux and others were attracted and heard Jennifer’s mother calling for help from the garage which adjoined the family room. Lux forced the garage door open slightly, and the mother and her 4-year-old son emerged through the opening. Learning that Jennifer still was inside, Lux crawled into the garage and ran to a vestibule between the family room and an enclosed stairway leading to the main floor. Flames had spread to one wall of the vestibule and one wall of the stairway. Jennifer was at the top of the stairs, her clothing afire. Lux dashed up the stairway, passing the flames on the wall. He picked up Jennifer, turned around, and ran back down the stairs. Lux took Jennifer to the garage door. After pulling the burning clothing from her and patting out smouldering spots on her body, he thrust her through the opening and then crawled out. Meanwhile the father had climbed out a window of the family room. Jennifer, her father, and her mother later succumbed to burns they had received. Lux was hospitalized for burns to his hands, arms, and face. He recovered.
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