Michael Trelinski, 20, pulpwood cutter, died attempting to help save John Nykorak, 20, pulpwood cutter, from burning, Hadashville, Manitoba, September 5, 1955. When a fire in the Sandilands Forest Reserve endangered their camp, Nykorak, his brother, his cousin, and Trelinski prepared to leave the area. Nykorak had one leg in a heavy plaster cast extending from hip to ankle and could walk only very slowly. After trying unsuccessfully to start a truck on which they had loaded their personal effects, the youths hitched the truck to an automobile and drove a mile and a half from camp, where they were forced to stop because of the dense smoke. Heat then was noticeable and when flames blocked the road 300 feet away, Trelinski stated that they would have to abandon the vehicles. Nykorak begged the others not to leave him behind and was assured by them that they would aid him in reaching a swamp three quarters of a mile away. With his brother and Trelinski supporting him and his cousin holding the cast-encased leg, Nykorak hopped along on the other leg as the four youths traveled a quarter of a mile toward the swamp. Strong winds spread the flames toward them, and Nykorak’s cousin became badly frightened. Leaving the others, he ran to the swamp and thence continued 13 miles to a ranger station. Efforts to reach the other youths were thwarted by the flames, which consumed the deserted camp, the abandoned vehicles, and more than 75 square miles of timber. Thirty-six hours later searchers found the bodies of Trelinski, Nykorak, and his brother a short distance from where they last had been seen alive. 43618-4090
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43618-4090