Vincent J. Galati helped to rescue Marjorie O. and Leo Sellers from burning, Fort Worth, Texas, July 21, 1998. Mrs. Sellers, 75, and her husband, 77, were inside their one-story house when escaping natural gas in the kitchen exploded, demolishing the back of the house. Fire broke out and spread quickly throughout the structure. Residents of the neighborhood, including Galati, 46, assembler, responded to the scene. Looking for the couple, Galati found a hole in the rubble at the back of the house and entered, crawling. He saw Mrs. Sellers and her husband amid debris and crawled to them. Galati grasped Mrs. Sellers, then pulled her out of the rubble and took her to the nearby fence that bordered the property. After putting Mrs. Sellers over the fence into the adjoining yard, Galati returned into the rubble for Sellers, but intense heat from the growing flames forced him to withdraw. He climbed the fence into the adjoining yard, where a neighbor sprayed him with a water hose. Sellers exited the rubble and was aided over the fence by Galati and another man. The house was destroyed. Mr. and Mrs. Sellers, both severely burned, were taken to the hospital, where they died two days later. Galati received emergency-room treatment for cuts to his knees and a wound on one foot, and he recovered.
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72947-8324