Rolph L. Pelton, 36, machine operator rescued Donna J. and Donald D. Sanderson, twins, 4, from burning, Trilby, Ohio, March 15, 1943. While Donna and Donald were in a bedroom on the second floor of a frame house, fire broke out in an adjoining dining-room. Pelton ran up outside stairs to the second floor, forced open a door, and entered a kitchen, in which there was smoke. Holding his breath, he ran 12 feet through flames three feet high in the dining-room and entered the bedroom, in which smoke was dense. Hearing Donna scream, he groped on a bed and got hold of her arm, from which flesh sloughed. Getting her under his arm, he ran to Donald, who was nearby, and took hold of him. Believing he could not get back through the dining-room, he carried the children to a window, broke the glass, and sat astride the window-sill, holding the children outside. Intense heat blew on Pelton. A man climbed a ladder to the window and took the children to the ground, and Pelton descended the ladder part way and jumped to the ground. Donna had suffered burns, from which she died the following day. Donald suffered minor burns and recovered. Pelton suffered severe burns on one arm and shoulder and was disabled for two weeks. 39902-3335
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