Walter C. Blair, 24, instrument inspector, attempted to save J. Renice McGarrity, 33, painter, from burning, Brownwood, Texas, February 4, 1939. Fire followed an explosion in a 12-foot-square paint room in an industrial plant. While men held open a door to the room, Blair ran 10 feet into the room to McGarrity, who was unconscious on his arms and knees on the floor near a burning wall, his clothing having burned away. Flames extended three feet from the wall and rose a foot and a half to 10 feet from the floor in places where there was spilled paint. Getting hold of McGarrity, Blair pulled him to the doorway; and men aided them from the room. McGarrity died four hours later. Blair sustained serious burns on his hands, arms, and face and was disabled for three weeks.
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