Joseph Armand Bibeau rescued Camille Comeau from burning, St. Joseph de Sorel, Quebec, March 14, 1961. In an iron mill Comeau, 32, iron mill tapper, stood near the end of a trough just above a ladle nine feet deep which had been heated to a temperature of 2000 degrees and attempted to throw a heavy piece of metal residue into the wedge-shaped opening in the ladle’s hood. The metal caught in Comeau’s glove and pulled him off balance, causing him to topple onto the hood with his legs dangling over the opening and his feet just below the end of the trough. Bibeau, 37, iron mill tapper, ran to the sloping end of the trough, which was covered with sand. Holding with one hand to a railing, which was hot, he leaned as far as he could over the opening in the ladle, which contained some molten metal. Heat was intense, and Comeau’s clothing had begun to burn. Reaching downward, Bibeau grasped Comeau by one ankle and with one quick motion pulled him almost laterally from the hood across the ladle opening and onto the trough. He then drew Comeau to his feet and partially carried him 35 feet. By beating with his hands and scooping sand over him, Bibeau extinguished the flames on Comeau, whose hair also had caught fire. Comeau was hospitalized a week with severe burns. Bibeau sustained burns on his hands. Both men recovered.
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