Frederick J. Levesque, Jr., rescued Kerra R. Colgan from burning, Somers, Connecticut, December 4, 2013. Kerra, 7, was in her family’s apartment, which was on the second floor of a two-story building, after fire broke out in one of the unit’s bedrooms. Levesque, 52, retired corrections administrator, was driving by and saw flames and smoke issuing from the bedroom’s window. He stopped at the scene, as did other motorists, who gained entry to the building through its front door. Levesque responded to the rear of the building, entered it through the back door, and climbed an interior stairway to the second floor. He forced open the burning apartment’s back door and entered the unit but was forced out because of dense smoke. Entering a second time, shouting, he heard Kerra’s voice, but the smoke forced him out again. A third time Levesque entered the apartment, but crawling. Despite limited visibility, he advanced through the smoke following Kerra’s voice and found her on the floor. Grasping her, he backed to the door, pulling her, and then stood, picked Kerra up, and took her downstairs and outside to safety. Kerra was hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation and minor burns, and she recovered. Levesque inhaled smoke and was given oxygen at the scene, and he too recovered.
86250 – 9719
86250-9719