John Nelson Carroll saved Hubert Fillekes from burning, Ottawa, Ontario, May 29, 1962. In early evening fire broke out in the living room of a second-floor apartment occupied by Fillekes, 60, janitor, and his wife. Carroll, 23, tire shop foreman, smelled the smoke, ascended outside stairs, and entered a hall leading to the building’s three apartments. With the aid of a man who was the only other occupant, Carroll forced open the looked door of the Fillekes apartment. Flames burned on the wall at each side of the door, on the ceiling, and along the side wall. Heat was intense. Passing through dense smoke and within a foot of the flames, Carroll moved 10 feet into the room. He found Fillekes lying inert on a davenport, his clothes smoldering. Flames burned on the back of the davenport and the wall behind it. Carroll hoisted Fillekes onto his shoulder and carried him to the door and thence into the hall, from where he continued partway down an inside stairway. The other occupant and another man then took Fillekes out of the building as Carroll ran back up the stairs. Flames issuing from the doorway of the apartment prevented him from re-entering. He called out to the wife of Fillekes but got no response. Soon afterward firemen arrived and extinguished the flames. They found the body of the wife in an alcove adjoining the living room. Fillekes suffered extensive burns, and Carroll sustained burns on his shoulder, arm, and thigh. Both recovered.
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