Ralph Sumner, Jr., helped to rescue Gary V. Coombs from burning, Kinston, North Carolina, December 25, 2003. Coombs, 51, lay unconscious on the floor of a bedroom in one end of his mobile home after fire erupted in another room. Other residents of the neighborhood, including Sumner, 51, pool builder, saw smoke issuing from the structure and responded to the scene. After one of the men broke open the back door and attempted to remove Coombs, Sumner entered the mobile home and took to the floor because of the dense smoke. He crawled through a hall toward the room in which Coombs had been heard, then, hearing Coombs moan, he entered the room and found Coombs on the floor. Sumner grasped Coombs by one of his ankles, then crawled about nine feet back to the door, pulling him. There, others helped to take Coombs from the mobile home and to safety. Coombs was hospitalized with severe burns and succumbed to his injuries five days later.
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