Curtis Tyler Baughman saved James Davis and Charlotte Taylor from burning, Dothan, Alabama, April 18, 2000. Davis and Ms. Taylor were inside a mobile home after fire erupted in its living room and filled the structure with dense smoke that precluded visibility. Curtis, 16, high school student, who lived nearby, saw smoke and responded to the scene, as did his stepfather and another man. Concluding that Davis and Ms. Taylor were still inside, they went to a window of the bedroom in the far end of the mobile home and called to the couple. Hearing them in the bedroom, the men boosted Curtis up to the open window, and Curtis climbed through it. He crawled through the smoke-filled room to the bed on which he found Davis, who was conscious. He pulled Davis to the floor, then to the window, Davis crawling behind him. The two men outside the mobile home pulled Davis through the window to safety. After putting his head out the window for air, Curtis turned and again crawled through the smoke, to search for Ms. Taylor. Finding her unconscious on the floor, Curtis dragged her to the window and positioned her. The two men pulled her through the window, then aided Curtis in exiting through the window. The fire spread quickly and destroyed the mobile home. Curtis, Davis, and Ms. Taylor were taken to the hospital, where Curtis was treated for smoke inhalation. He recovered in two days.
74414 – 8470
74414-8470