Raymond John Fahlen, Sr., helped to save Bradley T. VanDamme from burning, Fulton, Illinois, October 10, 1975. In a one-car accident at night, VanDamme, 18, unconscious from injuries received, was in the right front seat of a station wagon on which flames burned across the rear and along the passenger side. Fahlen, 34, construction laborer, and another man ran to the vehicle, where the driver’s door had been torn off. Flames had spread into the front-seat area. Kneeling on the seat, Fahlen and the other man with some difficulty freed VanDamme, who was afire, and removed him from the vehicle, which soon afterward was engulfed by flames. VanDamme was hospitalized for injuries and extensive burns. He recovered.
55277 – 6241
55277-6241