CROWDER - A Crowder man and woman became heroes to an elderly man early Saturday morning.
According to Jim Duck, safety officer with the Vanduser Fire Department, Stacey and Michelle Dawson were driving on Highway Z in Crowder when they noticed smoke coming from a residence. The couple stopped to see if anyone was inside and a call was made to 9-1-1 at 1:17 a.m. Saturday.
"If they hadn't stopped," said Duck, "the elderly gentleman who lived there would have died." Duck said the Dawsons kicked in the door and helped the victim get outside. He said Woodrow Phillips had tried to escape from his burning home, but the smoke was very heavy and he fell while attempting to get out.
Duck added that when paramedics arrived and examined the resident, he was told Phillips would have died if he had been in there much longer. "He already had fire soot around his mouth and nose and on his clothes," however the man was not burned.
In fact, after he was taken outside to fresh air, examined by the paramedics and was stabilized, Phillips refused medical treatment and was taken to a friend's home in Sikeston.
The house was destroyed and the cause of the fire is under investigation.