William F. Sankbeil, 40, highway patrolman, saved Anna J. Miller, 78, from suffocation, Princeton, West Virginia, May 20, 1967. Fire broke out in a one-story nursing home in which six elderly women were patients. Sankbeil was attracted from his home nearby and ran to the building, as did others in the neighborhood, including Clayton J. Warren. Sankbeil and Warren entered the home by way of a door opening into the bedroom occupied by Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Myrtle Dickerson. Crouching, both men moved beneath flames which then covered much of the ceiling. One wall also was afire. Heat was intense, and the smoke made breathing difficult. Sankbeil went to the bed occupied by Mrs. Miller, while Warren proceeded to Mrs. Dickerson. Warren took Mrs. Dickerson to the door and emerged from the building. Sankbeil, carrying Mrs. Miller, nearly had reached the door when a television set in the bedroom exploded, spreading the flames. Sankbeil emerged from the building with Mrs. Miller. After the two women had been removed to safety, Sankbeil and Warren returned to the door of the building, but conditions then were so severe that they could not reenter. The other four patients died.
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