Date: Fri 19-Mar-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Georgia-Pacific-John-McCourt

Full Text:

Honored For Heroic Action

Georgia Pacific employee John McCourt was honored by his company last week for

his heroic efforts during a January fire in Seymour.

Mr McCourt, a truck driver, was making one of his regular runs to Seymour when

he spotted flames coming from a home on Bank Street, just off exit 21 of Route

8. After parking his truck, bystanders informed him that an elderly couple was

still inside the burning building. In a flash, Mr McCourt ran into the

smoke-filled house and rescued the couple.

"The woman was still asleep in the back bedroom, so she was startled when I

woke her up and brought her outside," Mr McCourt explained.

The New Fairfield resident was presented a plaque and a check for $1,000 from

two executives who made the trip up to Newtown from Atlanta.

Georgia Pacific, with its distribution facility on South Main Street in

Newtown, is the nation's largest distributor of building products. The company

has 153 facilities in the United States and seven in Canada.