Mardon G. De Michele, 14, schoolboy, rescued Lesta M. Gambill, 65, from burning, Gary, Indiana, March 26, 1955. Mrs. Gambill, who was recovering from an illness, was asleep in the living room of a basement apartment when a fire broke out at a stove and ignited the adjoining walls. Awakening, Mrs. Gambill knocked on the ceiling and screamed, attracting her 10-year-old grandson and Mardon, who were in the apartment above. Mardon ran outside, continued to the door of the basement living room, and entered. In the corner adjacent to the stove, flames rose from the floor to the ceiling, extending three feet from the walls. Mardon ran through the living room and kitchen and found Mrs. Gambill searching for a sweater in a room at the rear of the apartment. He urged her to leave with him at once. The flames spread to the kitchen doorway; and Mardon, who realized the only path to the outside door was blocked, ran to a kitchen window, Mrs. Gambill following him. Breaking the glass, Mardon opened the window and climbed outside. Standing in a wheelbarrow, he got hold of Mrs. Gambill as she extended her head and shoulders through the opening. He had drawn Mrs. Gambill partly out of the kitchen when the window frame dropped upon her back, wedging her in the opening. The advancing flames inside burned at Mrs. Gambill’s legs and ignited her dress. With his fist Mardon tore the window frame from its hinges, and he and the grandson pulled Mrs. Gambill outside. They put out the flames on her clothing with snow. Firemen arrived shortly afterward and in 20 minutes extinguished the flames, which gutted the apartment. Mrs. Gambill suffered severe burns and was hospitalized for an extended period, her legs being amputated, and he suffered hand cuts which healed. 43425-3985
43425 – 3985
43425-3985