Mark Barnard helped to rescue Julie E. Wharram from burning, Armstrong, British Columbia, July 23, 2007. Wharram, 25, was the driver of an automobile that, at night, left the highway, went down an embankment, and overturned onto its roof. Flames erupted in the front of the car and issued from its exposed underside. Wharram was trapped inside the car, suspended upside down by her safety belt. Motorists, including Barnard, 21, carpenter, and two friends, drove upon the scene and stopped. Barnard crawled partway into the car through the window of the driver’s door to attempt to free Wharram but could not, and he withdrew. The men then fought the flames with available aids but reduced them only momentarily, and the fire spread to the interior of the car. One of the men then obtained a knife from another motorist, crawled partway through the driver’s window, and cut Wharram’s safety belt. As he maneuvered her toward the window, Barnard and the other man reached inside and grasped her, and the three men pulled her from the vehicle. They carried her away, flames spreading to engulf the car shortly. Wharram required lengthy hospitalization for extensive and serious burns and other injuries. Barnard suffered mild smoke inhalation, and he recovered.
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