March 7, 2003

PRESS RELEASE
To: Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Asst. to the Fire Chief
Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2411, page: 675-2137

Fire Chief to Recognize Local Woman for Life Saving Efforts

Shreveport Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran will recognize a Shreveport woman for her life saving efforts in the rescue of a bedridden woman from a house fire last Monday . . .

Lena Stephens, 70, will be awarded the Civilian Letter of Commendation in a ceremony Monday, March 10 at 1:00 p.m. in the Fire Chief’s office at Central Fire Station. Stephens was the caregiver for 78 year old Leslie Lee when Lee’s home in the 5000 block of Armstrong Place caught fire. It the midst of smoke and fire, Stephens pulled Lee from her bed and drug her through the residence until reaching the front porch where two neighborhood men assisted them both.

The rescue was an extraordinary effort by any account but the fact that Stephens herself is 70- years-old made her actions even that more compelling and certainly commendable, said Fire Chief Cochran. The home sustained heavy fire and smoke damage and was determined by fire investigators to have started in a bedroom from faulty aluminum wiring. ###