Richard R. Patey saved Ana S. Hernandez from burning, Jacksonville, Florida, October 21, 2003. Ms. Hernandez, 82, was lying in bed after fire erupted in a carport at the opposite end of her one-story house and spread to its interior. Passing motorists, including Patey, 40, taxicab driver, and others discovered the fire and gathered at the scene. Learning that the house was probably occupied, Patey opened a sliding-glass door at the back of the structure and called to anyone inside. When Ms. Hernandez responded, Patey entered the living room, which was filling with smoke, and proceeded through a hall toward the bedrooms. He forced open the door to Ms. Hernandez’s room, then picked her up and carried her out of the bedroom, through the hall and living room, and outside. Flames spread throughout the house and destroyed it, and they reached the vehicle and house of the next-door neighbor. Ms. Hernandez and Patey required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation, and they recovered.
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