Raymond A. Follen rescued Rose Davidson from burning, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 31, 1951. At night a violent gas explosion in a store operated by Mrs. Davidson, 63, and her husband demolished two walls and tore away a section of the floor. Dense flames filled the basement and rose in gusts a foot high at the hole in the floor. Mrs. Davidson and Mrs. Helen L. Kellington were thrown to the floor at the edge of the hole, their legs extending into the basement. The hair and clothing of both women were ignited. In a crowded street adjoining the store, 19 persons were burned or injured by the explosion. Follen, 25, cabinet-maker’s helper, ran 40 feet to the front of the store, made his way around a pile of burning debris, and stepped to the edge of the hole. He took hold of Mrs. Davidson’s arm and drew her from the hole and thence outside. Assisting Mrs. Davidson to her feet, Follen beat out the flames on her hair and clothing. She had sustained severe leg burns and was in great pain. FoIlen accompanied her to a hospital. Charles E. Gibbons and Edward P. Kinavey, Sr., while aiding injured persons in the street heard the screams of Mrs. Kellington in the store. They ran to her, stepped cautiously onto the joists and floor at the hole, and took hold of Mrs. Kellington, who was burned severely. Gibbons and Kinavey then dragged Mrs. Kellington to the sidewalk and assisted by others extinguished her hair and clothing. Gibbons accompanied her to a hospital. Mrs. Davidson’s husband was aided from the store. Five minutes after the first explosion had occurred, the interior of the store erupted in a burst of flames. Following another violent explosion, the floor fell to the basement. Firemen arrived and evacuated the area of all persons. At intervals of five minutes three other explosions occurred, injuring six firemen. Within an hour the flames were brought under control. Mrs. Kellington died the following morning of her burns. Mrs. Davidson was hospitalized three months. Follen suffered from shock and nervousness, and his hand was blistered. 42435-3755
42435 – 3755
42435-3755