Home remodeler Philip L. Hall, 22, of Albuquerque, N.M., was inside his apartment April 29, 2018, when he heard his neighbor scream for help and saw her 2-year-old great grandson, Kierre Caldwell-Smith, trapped between a burning tent and a fence.
Wearing only shorts, Hall exited his first-floor window and quickly scaled two 6-foot, chain-link fences. With his course blocked by growing and spreading flames, Hall then scaled two more fences to bring himself closer to Kierre, albeit on the opposite side of the fence.
While standing on debris near the fence and pulling the top of the fence toward him, Hall reached over the fence and grasped Kierre’s arm. Hall then lost his grip and Kierre fell into the flames. Hall leaned over the fence farther, extending his upper body into the flames to grasp the boy and lift him over the fence and carry him to safety.
Kierre suffered severe burns to 55 percent of his body and was hospitalized for nearly three months. He continues to recover. Hall was hospitalized and underwent rehabilitation for nearly four months for treatment of second- and third-degree burns to more than 55 percent of his body. He recovered.
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