William Harold Denzer

William Harold Denzer, 14, schoolboy, saved John C. Bristow III, 1, from burning, Kettering, Ohio, August 27, 1965. When fire broke out in the kitchen of a one-story frame dwelling where John was asleep in the bedroom, the flames spread rapidly and soon broke through the outside wall. John’s mother, who was outside, entered the kitchen but was forced back by the dense smoke and flames which covered three walls. She ran to the window of the bedroom and tried in vain to climb up to it, screaming that her baby was inside. John’s father arrived, broke a living-room window, and climbed into the dwelling. Denzer ran to the mother as flames broke through the roof of the kitchen and dense smoke poured through the open windows. He raised himself by means of a flower box under the bedroom window. Using a board as a wedge, he broke the metal arm holding the window and then was able to raise it 18 inches. Denzer held his breath, pushed in on the screen, and tumbled headfirst into the bedroom. Heat was intense. Denzer could see nothing in the dense smoke but, guided by John’s cries, moved to a crib in the corner. He removed John from the crib, carried him to the window, and thrust him through the opening to someone outside. Unable to hold his breath any longer, Denzer gulped some smoke and began coughing. He climbed through the window opening and fell to the ground. Firemen and police arrived. A policeman entered the bedroom but was forced back by the smoke and lost consciousness at the window. He was removed by firemen, who extinguished the flames. The body of the father was found in the living room.