Survivor rescued 16 days after the hurricane

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Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Survivor rescued 16 days after the hurricane

By KEITH SHARON
The Orange County Register

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In the past few days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has ordered searchers not to break into homes. They are supposed to look in through a window and knock on the door. If no one cries out for help, they are supposed to move on. If they see a body, they are supposed to log the address and move on.

The morticians will remove the deceased later.

But Fell broke the rules and ordered his men to bash open the door, launching a series of events that would save a man's life and revitalize California Task Force 5 from Orange County. In the past two days, the 80-member task force had identified seven dead bodies in the same neighborhood, and they had rescued no one.

But Tuesday, 16 days after Hurricane Katrina smacked this aging community in the face, an unconscious and emaciated man identified as Edgar Hollingsworth, 74, was rescued. The man is expected to survive... The man had been lying on the couch in his locked and sweltering home. Fell and Sgt. Jeremy Ridgeway, who also had been searching the neighborhood for survivors, peered through the front window at 1927 Lopez St. and saw Hollingsworth's foot extending over the edge of his couch.

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A pit-bull puppy was also pulled from the house. It appeared to be healthy and was transported to the hospital along with Edgar Hollingsworth.

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http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/09/14/sections/news/news/article_674836.php