Michael D. Shoemaker Jr.

Michael D. Shoemaker Jr. rescued a man from burning, Vancouver, Washington, November 18, 2023. A 63-year-old man was trapped inside his first-floor apartment in a two-story building as the unit began to fill with thick, black smoke from a fire that started in a corner of his bedroom. Inside his second-floor apartment directly above the man, Shoemaker, 41, maintenance worker, heard an explosion, ran outside, and shortly learned that the man remained inside his apartment and needed help. Shoemaker, who suffered from asthma, entered shirtless through the front door and, guided by noises the man was making, felt his way to the man’s bedroom and attached bathroom where, after getting down on his hands and knees, Shoemaker found the man on the floor. After failing to get the man to his feet, Shoemaker saw the orange glow of flames in the bedroom and ran outside for a fire extinguisher. He returned to the bedroom and emptied the extinguisher to little effect. Shoemaker’s son crawled through the smoke to bring him a second extinguisher, which also had little to no effect, then exited as directed by his father. Shoemaker then ran out of the apartment a second time to catch his breath before returning to the bedroom, grasping the man under his knees, and dragging him to the front door, where Shoemaker’s son and a neighbor helped pull the man the rest of the way out of the apartment. The man was taken to the hospital with severe inhalation injuries and burns on his head, shoulders, and arms. He was hospitalized for several months and, almost three years later, was still recovering. Shoemaker suffered mild inhalation injuries, causing a cough and shortness of breath, and first-degree burns on his chest, back and arms. He recovered.