William G. Heap rescued Carley R. Stotler from burning, Edinburg, Virginia, October 2, 1994. Carley, 9 months old, was on the floor in the bedroom of her grandmother’s ground-level apartment when fire broke out in the unit’s bathroom, which opened into the bedroom. After unsuccessful attempts to rescue Carley, the grandmother alerted a neighbor, Heap, 51, worksite supervisor. Heap entered the apartment through its front door but was forced out by heat and smoke. He then climbed through the window of the bedroom, which was filled with dense smoke that precluded visibility. Heap crawled to Carley, who was crying, then grasped her and returned to the window, where he handed her outside to safety. Heap then exited through the window. Carley was hospitalized overnight for treatment of smoke inhalation and minor burns; she recovered. Heap also required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation and minor burns, to his fingers. He recovered.
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