Paul Nelson Bartlett helped to rescue Marilyn J. Guty and Margaret M. Hellard from a collapsing building, Picton, Ontario, January 11, 1986. Mrs. Guty, 43; Mrs. Hellard, 52, and other patrons were trapped by debris after an explosion of propane gas in the basement of the restaurant in which they were dining. Gas continued to leak in the two-story, stone building, the remaining portion of which was threatening to collapse. Dispatched to the scene, Bartlett, 28, ambulance officer, learned that Mrs. Guty and Mrs. Hellard were trapped. Although debris continued to fall in the building and spot fires broke out, Bartlett entered and crawled through a narrow passageway in the debris to where Mrs. Guty was pinned by an arm to a table. He helped a fireman to free her and take her to safety. Bartlett re-entered the passageway and crawled toward Mrs. Hellard, whom he could not reach. He urged her to crawl toward him. She did; Bartlett seized her and pulled her closer, then backed up and repeated the process until they were at the entrance of the passageway, from which they were pulled by firemen. Mrs. Guty and Mrs. Hellard were hospitalized for their injuries, from which they recovered.
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