A 9/11 Hero is Helped Next Week on Extreme Makeover Home Edition  2/5/07

AN EX-MARINE WHO RISKED HIS LIFE TO SAVE TWO POLICE OFFICERS AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER DURING THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS WILL BE HONORED WITH A NEW HOME IN TWO EMOTIONAL BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES OF "EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION"

His Rescue Featured in Movie " World Trade Center"

Ed Sanders Suffers an Injury and Undergoes "Extreme" Emergency Surgery

"Thomas Family" -- Jason Thomas, a 9/11 hero and his family from Columbus, OH, will be honored with a new home built by Ty and the gang in a remarkable seven days, on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11 (7:00-8:00 & 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

On September 11, 2001, Thomas helped rescue two police officers trapped in the debris from the fallen twin towers. Though he risked his life, he kept his identity a secret, as he felt he deserved no special recognition for his act of bravery. Thomas was living on New York's Long Island at the time of the attacks. When he heard the news, he skipped his criminal justice class, grabbed his Marine uniform and headed for the twin towers to help. With another rescuer, he saved the lives of two Port Authority police officers, then disappeared to the next task at hand.

His role came to light when he recently saw the trailer for the film "World Trade Center," which featured the police rescue. Neither New York authorities nor the film's producers had been able to locate the man who identified himself at the site only as "Sergeant Thomas," and the film portrayed him as a white man, though he is black. When reporters tracked him down, he hesitantly came forward with his story. Now he is celebrated all over the country.

This hero served his nation in its time of need. Now it's up to "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to serve this family with a new home that's strong and safe. Ty also travels to New York City's Ground Zero, where he has an emotional meeting with police officers John McLaughlin (played by actor Nicholas Cage in the film) and Will Jimeno, the two men Jason saved and the last two people to be pulled alive from the rubble.

In addition, emotions run even higher when the construction doesn't go as smoothly as planned. Ed Sanders cuts his hand while using a saw and, much to his dismay, the dedicated and tireless carpenter is forced to drop his work and rush to the emergency room, leaving the team a man down. The designers must pull together and work extra hard to not let Ed and the family down. Will Ed recover in time to make the final reveal?

While the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" design team, local builders National Home Builder M/I Homes, contractors and hundreds of workers and volunteers are building a dream house for the family in a remarkable seven days, the family will go on vacation to Walt Disney World.

The design team for this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will feature team leader Ty Pennington and designers Ed Sanders, John Littlefield, Paul DiMeo and Tanya McQueen. The series is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It's executive-produced by Denise Cramsey. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. This program carries a TV-PG parental guideline.

Source: ABC Press Release