The State : Boy Pulls Man From Fire

A 15-year-old boy who had escaped from a fire at his home in Gilroy ran back into the smoke-filled building twice to rescue a wheelchair-bound man trapped inside. Gilroy firefighters said Corey Young, who lives in the same house with 86-year-old J. V. (Vern) Sherburn, told them he was “dazed and tired” from smoke inhalation when he ran from the burning house and could “barely hear” Sherburn’s cries for help. Nonetheless, he ran back inside but was unable to lift Sherburn in his first attempt. On his second attempt, the youth managed to drag Sherburn to safety on the lawn. “Most people,” said South Santa Clara County Fire District Engineer Jim Smith, “would have just gotten out of there. We are pretty impressed with Corey.”