Theatre Training Saves Lives Associate Professor of Communication and Theatre J. Don Luna came home from the opening night of "Taking With" on Oct. 7, 1999 to find his neighbors in peril with a life-threatening fire. Luna ran through the halls banging on doors to awaken the residents. While attempting to rescue one neighbor from a burning apartment, Luna found himself in extreme danger when the severely burned man inside opened the door and flames from inside exploded out. The man managed to go down the stairs, but Luna was trapped in the stairwell. He kicked out a window, swung himself onto a balcony and climbed down to the ground. He then saw two other neighbors above the burning apartment. He climbed up three floors and helped the two women down. There was yet another woman on an upper floor and Luna again climbed up to guide her down to safety, balcony by balcony. A fire marshal later told Luna if he had come home 10 minutes earlier, he might not have smelled the smoke, and if he had come home 10 minutes later, his neighbors may well have perished in the flames. Luna credits his theatre training with his clear thinking during adverse circumstances. He said, "It is about being in the right place at the right time and doing the work that needs to be done."