Yuen Kong Won rescued Danielle R. Lang from burning, Paradise, California, July 18, 2003. Ms. Lang, 43, lay unconscious on the floor of her motel room after fire broke out in that room, spread, and filled the room with dense smoke. In his home nearby, Won, 67, who owned and managed the motel, was alerted to the fire by another guest. Responding to Ms. Lang’s room, he unlocked the door and entered. In dense smoke that obscured his vision, he approached the bed and removed burning bedding in search of Ms. Lang. Nearly overcome by conditions, he left the room. He returned, but on his hands and knees, and, catching sight of Ms. Lang beside the bed, crawled to her. He grasped her by the feet and dragged her to the door and outside as flames issued through the doorway. Another man helped Won take Ms. Lang to a point of safety in the parking lot. Ms. Lang’s room, and the adjoining one, were severely damaged by fire. Ms. Lang required extensive hospitalization for treatment of serious burns. Won suffered back strain and minor smoke inhalation for which he received hospital treatment. He recovered.
77085 – 8841
77085-8841Obituary
Roseville, California – Yuen passed away due to complications from a stroke. He was born in China and settled in the US in December,1963. He was the beloved husband of Judy Won, loving father to daughters Maggie Won and Julia Won, stepson Peter Wong and stepdaughter Grace Boyle with husband John Boyle, step-grandson Scott Tiscione with wife Megane Laguerre and step-grandson Miles Boyle. Yuen also had a very large extended family. Judy and Yuen would have celebrated their 40th Ruby wedding anniversary on December 24, 2020. Yuen achieved remarkable success in Sacramento as the owner of Wonsco TV and Repair, and as a life insurance salesman. He received recognition in the President’s Honor Society in 1972, as an Honored Contributor and Man of the Year in 1973, and won a National Quality Award in 1974 from the West Coast Life Insurance Company, Sacramento Chinatown Agency. He was the owner of the Pagoda restaurant and the Wildwood Motel in Paradise, California. In 2003, at the Wildwood, Yuen raced into a blazing motel room to rescue an unconscious female guest but could not locate her in the dense smoke. Overcome by the conditions, he left the room but soon crawled back in, caught sight of the guest and dragged her to safety. For this act of heroism he received medals from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, California Firefighters Association, and the town of Paradise. Here is a link about the rescue: https://mychfc.org/hero.aspx?hero=77085
(Edited from legacy.com; Published in The Sacramento Bee on Nov. 15, 2020)