John R. Wells, Jr., rescued Aerin D. and Joshua J. Radmacher from burning, Seattle, Washington, January 27, 1993. Aerin, 2, and Joshua, 3, were in the basement of their family’s house when fire broke out in the furnace and filled the basement with dense smoke. A neighbor, Wells, 35, customer service technician, was alerted to the fire by the boys’ mother. He broke out a sliding glass door in a wall of the basement, entered the house, and heard moaning. Wells followed the sound of the moaning and located Aerin, who was well into the basement, between a couch and a wall. Wells removed Aerin from the house, then, despite worsening fire conditions, re-entered the basement for Joshua. He found Joshua near where he had located Aerin and took him outside. Both boys were hospitalized four days for treatment of smoke inhalation, and Joshua sustained burns. Wells sustained minor smoke inhalation, for which he was treated at the scene, and he recovered the next day.
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