HJ249: Commending Landon Hatfield.

WHEREAS, Landon Hatfield is recognized for his heroism by aiding an Albemarle County resident to escape from a burning house on August 8, 2005; and

WHEREAS, Landon Hatfield, aged 14, was outside moving chopped wood in the yard when the blaze began at a house located in the Raintree subdivision near Old Brook Road; and

WHEREAS, Landon Hatfield ran to a neighbor's house and asked her to call 911 as the fire quickly escalated into a three-alarm blaze; and

WHEREAS, smoke was billowing out of the door when Landon Hatfield courageously entered the house and ran upstairs to help a woman who was a family friend and all alone in the house; and

WHEREAS, as smoke quickly filled the dwelling, Landon Hatfield helped the woman, who was having trouble breathing, climb out of a window and onto the roof; and

WHEREAS, construction workers, who had been working behind the residence, aided Landon Hatfield in getting the woman off the roof by way of a ladder and she was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center and was later released; and

WHEREAS, Landon Hatfield, a freshman at Albemarle High School, hopes to compete as a speed skater for the United States in the 2010 Winter Olympics; and

WHEREAS, because of Landon Hatfield's quick thinking and immediate action, the fire was eventually brought under control, extinguished, and no life-threatening injuries occurred during the ordeal; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend Landon Hatfield for his courage and selflessness in a dire emergency; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Landon Hatfield as an expression of the General Assembly's appreciation and gratitude for his heroism in helping a fellow citizen.