THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995                 TAG: 9503260157
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 
DATELINE: HAMPTON                            LENGTH: Short :   31 lines

MAN, 88, PULLED FROM APARTMENT AFTER BEING BADLY BURNED

An 88-year-old man was rescued from his smoke-filled apartment Saturday night by a neighbor who heard a smoke alarm go off, authorities said.

The man, who was not identified, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body and was flown by medical helicopter to Sentara Norfolk General, said Hampton Fire Department spokesman Jeff Pereira.

Lt. Pereira said the man told firefighters that he had filled a lighter with fluid and that it exploded when he tried to use it.

Pereira said the neighbor, Douglas Rainey, 30, was returning home at about 7:30 p.m. to the Westwood Apartments in the 300 block of Summit Court when he heard the alarm and saw smoke coming from the man's second-floor apartment. Pereira said Rainey was driven back twice by smoke before entering the man's unlocked apartment.

Rainey told authorities that he heard the man calling for help. Rainey said he crawled into the apartment on his hands and knees and pulled the man to safety.

``He's quite a bit of a hero,'' Pereira said.

KEYWORDS: FIRES INJURIES RESCUES by CNB