A father-and-son team sustained injuries after removing an 88-year-old man who had collapsed in his burning Fayetteville, North Carolina, home on April 11, 2021. Russell D. Cox was lying on the floor of his kitchen after fire broke out at the rear of the home. Neighbors Anthony Peterkin, 52, a training technician, and his son, Jaden DeShawn Peterkin, a 17-year-old high school student, ran through the home’s attached garage to an interior door. From there, the older Peterkin proceeded to the home’s kitchen where flames engulfed the floor, ceiling, and walls. Crawling, Peterkin found Cox and dragged him toward the garage door where Jaden assisted. Peterkin and Jaden placed Cox on a small rug and dragged him from the home. Cox sustained smoke inhalation and serious burns to his legs and back; he died the next day. Peterkin was hospitalized for two days for smoke inhalation; he recovered. Jaden, who inhaled smoke and experienced an irritated throat, was examined at a hospital. He recovered.
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