Michael G. Jacome saved Alain Lecomte from burning, Spencer, Massachusetts, September 24, 2002. Lecomte, 29, lay unconscious in the cab of a tractor-trailer after an accident in which the rig left the roadway, struck a utility pole, and caught fire at its front end. The pole broke, dropping electrical lines over the tractor, and diesel fuel escaped from the tractor’s tanks, one of which was ruptured. Jacome, 27, welder, was standing on the sidewalk across the street and witnessed the accident. He went to the driver’s side of the tractor, opened the door, and stepped up into the cab, which was aflame along the opposite side. With difficulty, he pulled Lecomte back into the driver’s seat, then freed him from his safety belt. Jacome stepped down from the cab to the pavement, then reached up, grasped Lecomte, and pulled him from the vehicle, onto his shoulder. Two men who had approached helped him carry Lecomte to safety as flames spread to engulf the tractor. Lecomte was taken to the hospital but was not seriously injured.
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