Portia Brown rescued Howard A. and Evelyn P. Harris from burning, St. Louis, Missouri, January 31, 1952. Howard, 3, Evelyn, 1, and two young sisters were in a bedroom on the second floor of a house when flames broke out at a stove and ignited the walls and ceiling. Occupants of the first floor smelled smoke, and two men ascended a stairway and forced open the bedroom door. Dense smoke had filled the room, and the walls and ceiling were burning fiercely. The men used a fire extinguisher but could not control the flames. Brown, 36, letter-carrier, learned of the plight of the children, ran 75 feet to the house which he entered, and continued upstairs to the bedroom door. A sister of Howard and Evelyn emerged from the bedroom and Brown guided her to the stairway. Although warned of conditions by the other men, Brown dropped prone to the floor and crawled into the bedroom. Heat was blistering. Brown heard the cries of the children but could see nothing. Progressing four feet, he touched a bed and groped over it but was unable to locate the children. Shoving aside the mattress and blankets, he crawled on the springs to the opposite side of the bed. He groped and took hold of Howard, who lay on the floor, and drew him to the bed, shielding him from burning pieces of lath which fell from the ceiling. Brown crawled across the bed with Howard, carried him to the doorway, and handed him to a man outside the bedroom. He made his way again to the bed and crawled to its foot. Searching the floor, he located Evelyn. Brown crawled to the doorway with her and carried her from the bedroom. The flames greatly increased in intensity, preventing Brown from reentering the room. The other child perished in the fire, which was extinguished by firemen. Howard and Evelyn were burned severely. Evelyn died the following day, and Howard was hospitalized five months. Brown suffered a first-degree hand burn which healed. 42507-3785
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