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Grateful Texans Salute Life-Saving CWA Members
Two CWA members in Texas may be shy about being called heroes, but a thankful community says there's no better word for the bravery and quick work that saved a mother and her 3-year-old daughter from a burning home.
Cory Burgess, 26, and Robert Mitchell, 25, both Southwestern Bell repair technicians and members of CWA Local 6222 in Houston, have been written up in their city's newspaper for their life-saving actions and honored by federal, state and community leaders, as well as their union.
The two men had just finished repair jobs at separate homes in southwest Houston on Aug. 15 and were about to head to lunch when they saw heavy smoke a few blocks away.
They drove toward the smoke and saw several people trying to break into a burning house where Latisha Lawrence and her 3-year-old daughter, Ramya Ashley, were trapped by a collapsed ceiling, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Lawrence had passed out after cutting her hand when she broke a bedroom window to get fresh air. The window was protected by burglar bars, making it an impossible escape route.
Burgess and Mitchell immediately began helping neighbors try to break through the home's brick wall. They started banging on it with a car's steel wheel rim and a hammer, and tore at the bricks and insulation with their hands.
Once the hole was large enough, Burgess pulled Lawrence to safety, then reached back in and found her little girl. Both mother and daughter were scared but OK.
"They actually broke down that brick wall," said Local 6222 President Claude Cummings. "I know one of the firemen in the station that responded and he said everything that the fire didn't destroy, these guys destroyed getting into the house. It was quite an amazing feat. It made me especially proud when I found out they were both CWA members."
Burgess and Mitchell got a big hug from Lawrence and held a happy, healthy Ramya at a ceremony at the CWA hall a month after the rescue. "They're my heroes," Lawrence told the Chronicle.
Burgess said he didn't feel like a hero. "It's my job as a human being," he told the paper. "It's just the right thing to do."
Cory Burgess, 26, and Robert Mitchell, 25, both Southwestern Bell repair technicians and members of CWA Local 6222 in Houston, have been written up in their city's newspaper for their life-saving actions and honored by federal, state and community leaders, as well as their union.
The two men had just finished repair jobs at separate homes in southwest Houston on Aug. 15 and were about to head to lunch when they saw heavy smoke a few blocks away.
They drove toward the smoke and saw several people trying to break into a burning house where Latisha Lawrence and her 3-year-old daughter, Ramya Ashley, were trapped by a collapsed ceiling, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Lawrence had passed out after cutting her hand when she broke a bedroom window to get fresh air. The window was protected by burglar bars, making it an impossible escape route.
Burgess and Mitchell immediately began helping neighbors try to break through the home's brick wall. They started banging on it with a car's steel wheel rim and a hammer, and tore at the bricks and insulation with their hands.
Once the hole was large enough, Burgess pulled Lawrence to safety, then reached back in and found her little girl. Both mother and daughter were scared but OK.
"They actually broke down that brick wall," said Local 6222 President Claude Cummings. "I know one of the firemen in the station that responded and he said everything that the fire didn't destroy, these guys destroyed getting into the house. It was quite an amazing feat. It made me especially proud when I found out they were both CWA members."
Burgess and Mitchell got a big hug from Lawrence and held a happy, healthy Ramya at a ceremony at the CWA hall a month after the rescue. "They're my heroes," Lawrence told the Chronicle.
Burgess said he didn't feel like a hero. "It's my job as a human being," he told the paper. "It's just the right thing to do."