Star of Courage

• Awarded on: September 24, 1984
• Invested on: March 15, 1985

On the night of 24 August 1983, William King rescued a man and a woman when fire gutted their downtown apartment. Driving home with his family, Mr. King noticed that fire had broken out in the second-floor apartment. He stopped his vehicle, entered the building, ran upstairs and forced open the door with the help of a tenant. At that moment the fire intensified and thick smoke rolled down the corridor. On hearing a man gasping for breath, Mr. King entered on his hands and knees, saw the victim on the floor some distance from the doorway and dragged him out. While prodding and asking questions, Mr. King learned that the man's wife was in the bedroom adjoining the living- room, where the flames had originated. Totally unconcerned for his own life, he crawled back inside the inferno. Mr. King reached the bedroom, found the unconscious woman and pulled her to safety. She recovered from serious burns.