Joseph L. O’Neal, 75, retired boilermaker, rescued Milton Lee, 77, from burning, Bridge City, Texas, February 13, 1969. In his one-story frame dwelling, Lee attempted to light a gas heater in the bedroom; and fumes which had accumulated caused an explosion. Lee was knocked unconscious, and his clothing caught fire in places as flash flames ignited the bedroom’s ceiling and walls. O’Neal, who was visiting Lee, was thrown to the floor in an adjoining room. He noted the plight of Lee and crawled to him in the bedroom. Heat was intense, and tongues of flame leaped at times about O’Neal’s face as he rose to a kneeling position alongside Lee. After slapping at the flames on Lee’s clothing, O’Neal dragged him to the front door and thence from the dwelling, in which the flames were spreading rapidly. O’Neal, who had sustained minor burns, drove Lee to a hospital, where he was confined for treatment of extensive burns. He recovered.
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