AIbert Lindsay, 57, water service helper, saved Rufus Holguin, 43, water service helper, from suffocation, Houston, Texas, May 22, 1958. When he entered a manhole 18 feet deep to open a clogged sewer outlet, Holguin was overcome by gas from the sewer and fell unconscious into water six inches deep at the bottom of the manhole. Lindsay, who with two other men had been working with Holguin, descended into the manhole on metal steps along one side. One of the other men obtained a 25-foot garden hose from a nearby dwelling and lowered one end of it to Lindsay. Holding his breath as long as he could but occasionally forced to breathe, Lindsay tied the hose around Holguin and lifted him from the water. With the two men pulling from above and Lindsay pushing from below while ascending the steps, Holguin was drawn from the manhole. Lindsay was in the manhole approximately four minutes. Holguin was removed to a hospital, where he was treated for exposure to the gas and injuries suffered in the fall. He was hospitalized for three months and recovered.
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