Paul A. Thompson rescued Garnett A. Wright from burning, Mount Vernon, New York, September 4, 1988. Wright, 36, was asleep in the bedroom of his third-floor apartment when fire erupted in that room. He awoke and, screaming, attempted to flee but was stricken by smoke and fell to the floor, where he lay semi-conscious. Thompson, 26, private attendant, who lived on the floor below, heard Wright and realized there was a fire. He immediately went to the third floor and forced open the door to Wright’s apartment. Thick smoke billowed from the apartment, forcing him back. Despite the smoke, which precluded visibility, Thompson crawled into the intensely hot apartment and found Wright on the floor, near flames. He pulled Wright out of the apartment and downstairs to safety. Wright was hospitalized for burns to 45 percent of his body. Thompson recovered from smoke inhalation.
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