June 14, 1962 — Ten-year-old Karen Dovel, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. I.R. Dovel Jr., of Luray, is credited with saving her brother, Michael, age 8, from severe burns.
It seems that the two were in the basement of the Dovel home when some gasoline caught fire. Karen grabbed a nearby tablecloth and tried to beat out the flames, but since the cloth was too light she merely fanned the blaze and Michael’s clothing caught fire.
She immediately turned her attention to her brother and smothered the flames with the tablecloth meanwhile screaming loudly for help.
When her bother was safe from the flames, she pulled the garden hose into the basement and turned it onto the burning gasoline and when the Luray Fire Department, summoned by Trooper Dodson, arrived on the scene, Karen had the fire under control.
~ From the public archives of the Page News and Courier
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