On July 24, 1991, Mr. Wilfong rescued his neighbour from a burning apartment in Toronto, Ontario. He heard sounds of breaking glass and stepped onto his balcony to see flames shooting from a neighbour's unit. After calling 9-1-1, he ran to the apartment and opened the unlocked door, but the intense heat forced him to close it. However, having seen his neighbour slumped in a chair in the middle of the room, he reopened the door and crawled inside. Despite recent back surgery, Mr. Wilfong grabbed the chair and dragged it and the victim outside.