William Timothy Purdy rescued Wanda L. W. Thompson from burning, Germanton, North Carolina, February 20, 1994. Ms. Thompson, 49, lay unconscious on the floor of a bedroom in her mobile home after fire broke out in that room. From nearby, Purdy, 34, painter, heard a smoke detector then saw smoke issuing from the mobile home. He and two other men ran to the scene and gained entry to the mobile home through its front door, but they were repulsed by dense smoke. Purdy responded to the back door of the mobile home and entered. Hearing Ms. Thompson in the burning bedroom, he crawled into that room, which was smoke-filled. He grasped Ms. Thompson by her feet and dragged her outside to safety. Ms. Thompson was hospitalized three days for treatment of smoke inhalation and third-degree burns. Purdy recovered from minor burns to his right hand.
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