Stanley MacKinnon rescued his young nephew from a fire which destroyed the latter's home in the early hours of 23 June 1979. When he was summoned for help, Stanley MacKinnon learned that all had escaped from the house except his nephew, who was asleep in a ground-floor bedroom. He crawled through a window which, as he stumbled in the blinding smoke, shut behind him; and he had to open it again before resuming his search. After this delay he found the boy unconscious and passed him through the window. He himself suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to hospital along with his nephew.