“I just asked her where her baby was and she pointed out the room,” Freund recalls.

Firefighters had not yet arrived, so Freund and some deputies from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office went into action.  As Carmen George reports, Freund and the deputies “approached the baby’s bedroom window.  One of the deputies shattered it with a baton, then hoisted Freund – who was the thinnest – through the window.  Inside, he found a room filled with smoke, flames fast approaching on the other side of the door, and a smiling baby in a crib.  He scooped up the infant and passed the child through the window, then pushed himself out, bloodying his back and hands in the process.”

“After I climbed out the window, the only thing I was interested in was seeing if the baby was alright.  He was crying a little but seemed okay, so we left,” said Freund to a reporter back in 1971.  He left without the family even knowing his name.

The family tried in vain to find the rescuer but their efforts weren’t fruitful until they saw an article in the Fresno Bee that identified him.  On behalf of her family, Mrs. Robert Herzman wrote a letter to Freund and The Bee printed it in the paper.  Mrs. Herzman wrote the letter in her son’s name – “Bobby” – who was just four-months-old at the time.  It concluded with these words:

“You brought me to safety and disappeared before my parents could express their gratitude.  But heroes don’t want to be thanked.  Thank you is too inadequate for saving my life.  But I know that mommy and daddy will do their best to teach me right from wrong and to do just like you did. You saw it had to be done and you did it. We will never forget you.” – Bobby

46 years after the terrible fire and wonderful rescue, Bobby and his three sisters – with the help of The Bee – were able to meet with Freund to thank him personally.  The visit, Carmen George reports, was filled with gratitude, gifts, and Freund happily answering their questions about what he remembered from the night of the blaze. *

-- David A. Sargent