Raymond M. Thore, 40, lumber inspector, attempted to save William H. Ingram, 8 months, from burning, Martinsville, Virginia, December 8, 1952. William was asleep in a crib in a bedroom of a basement apartment in the wing of a house when a container of kerosene caught fire near a fireplace. The burning fuel flowed across the floor and ignited a bed occupied by William’s 5 year-old half-sister and her two younger brothers. Frightened and confused, the three children ran from the apartment screaming for help. The flames became more intense and engulfed the walls and ceiling of the bedroom. Thore and another man were attracted by smoke and ran to the house. Informed that William still was inside, they opened the outside door of a small entranceway leading to the apartment. Stepping inside, they dropped to their hands and knees just outside the open bedroom door. Dense smoke had filled the bedroom, and heat at the doorway was intense. Thore peered into the bedroom but could not observe William. They withdrew from the entranceway, and Thore ran along the side of the house to the only window of the bedroom. As he kicked the window and broke the lower pane, an explosion occurred inside the bedroom. The upper pane of the window was shattered; and a solid mass of flame 10 feet high issued four feet outward from the window opening, enveloping Thore. He was stunned but stumbled out of range of the flames. William perished in the fire, which gutted the apartment and burned through the walls and ceilings before being extinguished by firemen. Protected to some extent by heavy clothing and a visored cap, Thore sustained severe burns of the hand and face and lesser burns of the eyes and neck which healed completely in six weeks. 42732-3907
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