MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — A husband’s desperate crawl through smoke and flames to save his wife of 54 years is drawing attention after a massive fire tore through a former Middletown train station the couple had converted into a home for 15 years.
Norman Courney, 84, and his wife, Linde Stern, were living in the converted station when the fire broke out on Oct. 30, WHP reported. According to the family, the home’s power suddenly went out, and a small flame appeared near the bathroom before the circuit box exploded and fire quickly engulfed the structure.
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Stern, who has difficulty walking, said she tried to grab her walker but was forced to crawl as smoke filled the home. She continued calling out to alert her husband to her location until she could no longer yell.
Courney said he crawled back into the smoke-filled home on his stomach to reach her, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the door. A neighbor who saw the two needed help ran in to assist, and together they carried Stern out by her arms and legs.
Stern was hospitalized for burns, including a badly burned hand requiring skin grafts, as well as lung damage from extensive smoke inhalation. She has since been released.
The family has secured temporary housing in an Airbnb and said insurance did not provide enough to rebuild, prompting their daughter, Yarrow Farris, to set up a GoFundMe to help cover housing, clothing and medical expenses not covered by insurance.
