William Werts, Jr., 56, of New Castle, Delaware, a maintenance worker for a Wilmington, Delaware, apartment complex, rushed to the scene of a Nov. 25, 2020, fire in a second-story unit as intense flames issued out the front windows. Bystanders told Werts that a 58-year-old woman remained inside, and Werts rushed to the front door of the unit, where he was immediately repelled by intense smoke. As he retreated outside for air, debris fell on him. Werts then ran to the back of the building and ascended a fire escape, entering the unit’s kitchen through an open door. There he crawled with a fire extinguisher toward a bedroom, calling for the woman, who responded that she could not move to him. As he continued toward the bedroom, the woman stopped answering. At the door to the bedroom, Werts sprayed the extinguisher at flames in the door frame, but conditions worsened and smoke intensified. Werts backed toward the door; another man who had entered the kitchen assisted Werts to safety. Firefighters extinguished the fire; the woman did not survive. Werts sustained an inhalation injury and a burn on his head. He was hospitalized overnight and recovered.
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