Obituaries : Nicholas L. George; Won Medal of Valor
Nicholas L. George, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant decorated in 1977 after he helped drag both a fellow officer and the resident of a blazing house to safety, died Sunday in Placerville.
He was 48 and suffered an apparent heart attack while river rafting.
In June, 1977, George, who was off duty, passed a Canoga Park house that was in flames. Another officer had entered the house earlier to try to rescue an unconscious man but he had become trapped.
Initially rebuffed by the smoke and flames, George re-entered the house and with a third officer, George Daley Jr., managed to rescue both men. Although injured himself, George gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the unconscious officer.
George “displayed uncommon courage, determination and concern . . . ,” said his Medal of Valor, the Police Department’s highest award.
George is survived by two sons and a brother. A funeral service will be held at the Church of the Recessional, Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Glendale, at 10 a.m. Friday.
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