A northern Arizona man has been honored for helping rescue an elderly woman from her burning home. Robert Davies will receive a medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.
Last December, Davies saw thick smoke coming from his neighbor’s trailer in Golden Valley, just west of Kingman. The home was on fire, except for the bedroom, where a 92-year-old woman was trapped. Davies jumped into the dark, smoky room.
“I dove in head first, because that was the only way to get in,” Davies remembered. “It was such a small window, and the whole time I was in there, I wasn’t second-guessing anything. I felt I had to do the right thing, and the right thing was to save this woman’s life.”
Davies helped pull her out, before the room became engulfed. He stressed that he was part of a team, with Fire Chief Thomas O’Donohue and neighbor Paul Bissonette. But O’Donohue said that Davies is "clearly the hero" in the situation. Not many neighbors would risk their life that like, O’Donohue added.
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission honors civilians who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save others. Nearly 10,000 Carnegie Heroes have been named across the country since 1904.
