Officer

California Highway Patrol

11/22/1958

Special Act Award (Gold)

At 11:30 pm, while on patrol, Officer Robert W. Walker observed flames shooting into the air in the rural residential area north of Hayward. Officer Walker promptly requested assistance from the fire department and drove to the scene. As Officers Walker and Bieser arrived at the scene, they saw a man carrying an eleven year old girl from the building. The man, a neighbor, informed them that another child and the mother were still in the bedroom of the burning house. Without regard to his personal safety, Officer Walker climbed into the bedroom through the open window in spite of the fact the roof was in danger of collapsing. Groping his way through the smoke, Officer Walker determined that the woman was not in the building. He found the child, a two year old boy either asleep or unconscious, brought him to the window and passed him to his partner. Oxygen was administered and the boy survived the ordeal. At the time Officer Walker entered the building, a merchant's patrolman and another citizen had been driven back by the smoke and flames.