Randall Odell Williams rescued Travis T. Sammons from burning, Saginaw, Michigan, December 7, 1991. Travis, 1, and his family were asleep in their two-story home when fire erupted on the first floor. Travis’s father and two children escaped the burning house, but when the father attempted to re-enter for the rest of his family, dense smoke repelled him. Williams, 28, newspaper delivery truck driver, was in the neighborhood when he saw smoke, and he went to the scene. After Travis’s father told him that others remained inside the burning house, Williams entered through the front door and, despite the dense smoke, which precluded visibility, crawled across the living room. Finding Travis on the floor, he seized him and took him outside. Travis was treated for burns, and he recovered. Four family members died in the fire.
66419 – 7686
66419-7686Obituary
Randall ODell Williams, 58, of Saginaw, Michigan, died Friday, Dec. 17, 2021.
In 1991, Williams, then 28, a newspaper delivery truck driver, was in a Saginaw neighborhood and saw a burning two-story home.
A father and two children had escaped the burning house. The man attempted to reenter the home for family members who remained inside, but dense smoke forced him back.
Williams entered through the front door, braving the thick smoke, which precluded visibility. He crawled across the living room, found a 1-year-old boy on the floor, seized him, and took him outside. The child was treated for burns and recovered.
Williams was awarded the Carnegie Medal in 1992.
Williams’ twin brother, Ronald Darnell Williams, recently requested a grave marker to honor his late brother’s life and act of heroism.