Millard E. Lamm, 22, machine operator, saved Pauline M. Weedon, 2, from burning, Doubs, Maryland, September 29, 1954. While Pauline was asleep in the living room on the first floor of a house constructed of logs, a stove in the adjoining kitchen erupted in flames, igniting the walls and the hair and clothing of Pauline’s mother. She was burned severely and ran outside, collapsing to the ground near the front porch. The flames broke through the walls of an alcove near Pauline’s bed, ignited the ceiling, and spread to the second floor. Lamm ran 900 feet to the front of the house, reached the mother, and beat out the flames on her. Dense smoke had filled the entire first floor and was issuing from the doors and windows. Guided by Pauline’s cries, Lamm opened the front screen door and entered the living room. Visibility was poor. The ceiling of the entire room and the alcove walls were burning fiercely, and burning sections of paper fell from the ceiling. Heat was intense. Lamm groped eight feet toward Pauline’s bed but was affected by the smoke and had to return to the front door for air. Reentering at once, he crawled 10 feet along the floor to the bed, reached upward within three feet of the flames on the alcove wall, and got hold of Pauline. He crawled with her to the doorway and stood up but found that the screen door had become latched. Thrusting his body hard against the door, he tore out the screening and stepped outside. He carried Pauline a safe distance from the house, obtained his automobile, and removed the mother to a hospital. Before firemen arrived, most of the house was destroyed by the flames. The mother died of her burns the following day. Pauline suffered no ill effects. Lamm’s hair was singed. 43324-3965
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