William A. Brown helped to save Kevin H. Scott from suffocation, Mitchellville, Maryland, June 1, 2000. Scott, 42, lay on the second floor of his two-story house, at the head of the stairs, after helping one of his daughters attempt to rescue his other daughter from her bedroom; fire had broken out in an adjacent room and filled the floor with dense smoke. Brown, 57, letter carrier, who lived across the street, and his son saw smoke issuing from the house and immediately responded to the scene. They entered the house through the front door and, after searching the first floor for any occupants, climbed the stairs to the second floor, but they were repulsed by smoke and left the house for air. They entered the house a second time, climbed the stairs, and found Scott. Brown and his son grasped Scott and pulled him down the stairs to the first floor, then outside to safety. After Scott told the men that his daughters remained on the second floor, Brown and his son entered the house a third time and climbed partway up the stairs before being repulsed by deteriorating conditions. Firefighters arrived and removed the girls, but they did not survive. Brown showed effects of smoke inhalation, and he recovered.
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