Albert T. James helped to save Richard A. Griffis from suffocation, Natchez, Mississippi, February 13, 1973. When a severe electrical storm made a ventilating fan inoperative, Griffis, 19, and another workman were affected by paint fumes inside an elevated water tank. The other man was able to climb out, but Griffis collapsed. Help was summoned; and James, 56, oil well driller, was the first to arrive. Despite the storm, he climbed attached ladders and reached the top of the tank about 90 feet above the ground. Three firemen did likewise; and two of them entered the tank long enough to tie a rope around Griffis. James and the fireman then pulled Griffis onto the top of the tank. As the storm continued, Griffis was given artificial respiration, and a stretcher was used to lower him to the ground. He recovered.
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