Phillip W. Goldsmith helped to rescue Keith E. and Nadia L. Miller from burning, Tuckasegee, North Carolina, December 10, 1998. Miller, 23, and his wife, 20, were in their one-story house after fire broke out in the living room before daybreak. Driving by the house en route to work, Goldsmith, 26, carpenter, and a co-worker discovered the fire and stopped at the scene to check for occupants. Hearing a sound at a bedroom window, Goldsmith broke out the glass of that window; then, using a ladder that he and his co-worker found nearby, Goldsmith climbed to the window and entered the smoke-filled bedroom, which was adjacent to the burning living room. He found Miller lying semiconscious on the bedroom floor, then grasped him, dragged him to the window, and handed him out to his co-worker. Goldsmith exited the house through the window. When Miller informed the men that his wife was still inside, Goldsmith’s co-worker entered the bedroom through the window and, with smoke severely restricting visibility, crawled in search of her, finding her unconscious in bed. He dragged Ms. Miller to the window, then picked her up and passed her out to Goldsmith before exiting the house himself through the window. Miller and his wife sustained serious burns and smoke inhalation, for which they were both hospitalized, and Miller died of his injuries eight days later.
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