Willie H. Van Brackle, Jr., saved Sherry L. Stocker from burning, Easton, Pennsylvania, February 10, 1964. Fire broke out in the recreation room of a one-story dwelling in which Sherry, 4, was in a bedrooms. After futile attempts to extinguish the flames, which spread rapidly, the parents and four children ran from the dwelling. Willie, 17, schoolboy, arrived as the flames spread into other rooms. Dense smoke filled the entire dwelling. Willie and the others then heard Sherry screaming but could not tell from which room her cries came. Taking a deep breath which he held as long as he could, Willie entered the living room, where flames extended to within 10 feet of the door. He got to his knees beneath the dense smoke. Feeling his way along the baseboard, he crawled toward the sound of Sherry’s screams and reached an archway leading to the dining room, which nearly was filled with flames. Guided by Sherry’s cries and still feeling his way, Willie crawled nine feet and turned into an intersecting hall. He continued 12 feet farther and located Sherry Just outside the bedroom. Holding her in one arm, Willie retraced his course, using the baseboard as a guide. At the archway the flames were within six feet of him and were spreading rapidly. As Willie got to his feet with Sherry, a gust of flames singed their hair. Holding Sherry, Willie ran 12 feet through the living room and emerged from the dwelling. Firemen extinguished the flames.
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