H 4145 Concurrent Resolution, By J. Brown
 A Concurrent Resolution commending Rodney Whaley of Richland County for his
 heroic acts of bravery which saved the lives of a mother and her two small
 children in an apartment fire, recognizing Cliff Robins and Barry Young for
 their outstanding efforts in assisting in this rescue, and granting these
 gentlemen the privilege of the floor of the House of Representatives on
 Wednesday, May 5, 1993, for the purpose of being publicly recognized and
 thanked for their actions.

   04/28/93  House  Introduced HJ-14
   04/28/93  House  Referred to Committee on Rules HJ-14

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

COMMENDING RODNEY WHALEY OF RICHLAND COUNTY FOR HIS HEROIC ACTS OF BRAVERY WHICH SAVED THE LIVES OF A MOTHER AND HER TWO SMALL CHILDREN IN AN APARTMENT FIRE, RECOGNIZING CLIFF ROBINS AND BARRY YOUNG FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING EFFORTS IN ASSISTING IN THIS RESCUE, AND GRANTING THESE GENTLEMEN THE PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1993, FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING PUBLICLY RECOGNIZED AND THANKED FOR THEIR ACTIONS.

Whereas, on Tuesday night, April 20, 1993, Rodney Whaley of Richland County received a loud knock on his door at the Willow Lake Apartments on Fairfield Road in Columbia; it was a neighbor telling him of a fire two buildings away and indicating that a deaf mother and her two small children were in danger of losing their lives; and

Whereas, Mr. Whaley raced to the smoke-filled building and quickly realized that the fire had already spread to the stairwell leading to the second-floor apartment where the mother and two children lived; and

Whereas, Mr. Whaley ran for a metal work ladder on the premises of the apartment complex, retrieved it, and placed it against the blazing building; and

Whereas, security guard Cliff Robins held the ladder as Mr. Whaley climbed up, and guard Barry Young followed Mr. Whaley up the ladder; and

Whereas, after Mr. Whaley punched out the glass of a window, he was boosted through by Mr. Young; once inside, Mr. Whaley, who by now was in extreme danger in the burning apartment, found the two children, ages ten and three, sleeping next to their mother in a bedroom; and

Whereas, Mr. Whaley told them to "wake up and to come on", took the children by their hands, listened for voices from the ground below to get a sense of direction, handed one child through the broken window to Mr. Young, who carried her down the ladder, and handed the second child to Mr. Robins, who handed the child off to Mr. Young; and

Whereas, Mr. Whaley then began looking for the children's mother who had not followed him to the window; he was not able to find her and realized that, by this point, the whole apartment was ablaze and was being destroyed rapidly; Mr. Whaley jumped out the window, and, once on the ground, was told that the mother had jumped from a window at the rear of the apartment and was all right; and

Whereas, had it not been for Rodney Whaley's courage and determination, a terrible tragedy almost certainly would have taken place in Columbia on the night of April 20, 1993; and

Whereas, the combined efforts and actions of these three outstanding individuals, Rodney Whaley, Cliff Robins, and Barry Young, are highly deserving of recognition. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, commends Rodney Whaley of Richland County for his heroic acts of bravery which saved the lives of a mother and her two small children in an apartment fire and recognizes also Cliff Robins and Barry Young for their outstanding efforts in assisting in this rescue.

Be it further resolved that these three gentlemen be granted the privilege of the floor of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, May 5, 1993, at a time to be determined by the Speaker, for the purpose of being recognized and thanked publicly for their actions.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Mr. Rodney Whaley, Mr. Cliff Robins, and Mr. Barry Young.