By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Norman Courney, 84, crawled into the burning former Middletown, Pennsylvania, train station where he and his wife, Linde Stern, lived and pulled her to safety during an Oct. 30 fire.
- A neighbor who saw the couple ran in to help carry Stern out.
- Stern was hospitalized with burns, including a badly burned hand requiring skin grafts, and lung damage from smoke inhalation; she has since been released.
- The family says the fire began after the home’s power went out and a small flame appeared near the bathroom before the circuit box exploded; an official cause was not reported.
- The couple has been staying in temporary housing, and their daughter set up a GoFundMe for expenses not covered by insurance.
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — An 84-year-old man crawled back into his burning home Oct. 30 to rescue his wife of 54 years after fire engulfed the former Middletown train station the couple had lived in for 15 years, WHP reported.
Norman Courney and his wife, Linde Stern, said the home’s power suddenly went out, and a small flame appeared near the bathroom before the circuit box exploded and fire spread quickly. Stern, who has difficulty walking, said she tried to grab her walker but had to crawl as smoke filled the house, and she called out until she could no longer yell.
Courney said he crawled on his stomach through the smoke to reach her, took her hand and pulled her toward the door. A neighbor who saw they needed help ran inside, and together the two men carried Stern out by her arms and legs.
Stern was hospitalized with burns, including a badly burned hand requiring skin grafts, and lung damage from extensive smoke inhalation. She has since been released. The family has moved into temporary housing and said insurance did not provide enough to rebuild. Their daughter, Yarrow Farris, started a GoFundMe to help cover housing, clothing and medical expenses that insurance does not.