Christopher R. G. Mervin saved a man and woman from burning, Strathroy, Ontario, November 7, 2004. The man, 52, and woman, 42, were inside the man’s apartment, on the first floor of a two-story house, after fire broke out in the kitchen of that unit and filled the apartment with dense smoke. Nearby in the neighborhood, Mervin, 33, laborer, was alerted to the fire. He responded to the scene, where he learned that the house was occupied. Mervin entered the enclosed porch at the front of the house but was forced out by smoke. He re-entered, that time on his stomach, and moved across the porch to the front door, then into the entry hall. Finding the man in the hall, Mervin grasped him, but the man started to pull Mervin farther into the building. Mervin held the man in a bear hug and forced him from the house. He then re-entered the structure, again crawling through the enclosed porch and into the hall. Entering the living room, which was off the hall, he found the woman standing there. Mervin grasped her underneath the arms and dragged her from the house to safety. Neither the man nor the woman was injured. Mervin inhaled smoke, and he recovered.
78095 – 9015
78095-9015