A former firefighter who laid in burning wreckage for 20 minutes while other firemen tried to find him has reached a $10.6 million settlement with a safety equipment manufacturer.

Mitchell Dryer Jr. was awarded the compensatory damages on Feb. 18 by a Madison County Supreme Court jury, following a trial before Justice Eugene Faughnan. As the jury was to begin considering punitive damages against defendant Scott Technologies, Dryer's attorneys said they reached a settlement.

Scott agreed not to appeal the verdict and to pay the compensatory damage award by April 5 in return for not facing punitive damages. The deal carried no confidentiality clause, said Walter Benson, a partner in the Lynn Law Firm of Syracuse, which represented Dryer and his wife, Aimee, in Dryer v. Scott Technologies, 2008-1622.