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Firefighters from the Greenville Department of Public Safety and the Montcalm Township Fire Department respond to a structure fire Sunday at 613 W. Grove St. in Greenville. — DN Photo | Cory Smith
GREENVILLE — The keen eyes of neighbors and a quick response by local firefighters likely saved a Greenville home after it caught fire Sunday afternoon.
The Greenville Department of Public Safety was dispatched at 4:07 p.m. to the report of a structure fire at 613 W. Grove St. — a dispatch made after residents Brian Train and his wife Mindy spotted smoke coming from the home of their neighbor to the north.
“I just happened to let our dog outside, I looked up and saw a little bit of smoke coming out of the vents,” Brian said. “I thought, ‘that’s not right,’”
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Brian said he and Mindy immediately called 911 and approached the home, knowing resident Cindi Hardy could have been inside.
“She lives by herself and watches her grandson and granddaughter throughout the week, but on the weekends, we don’t really see her, so we weren’t sure,” Mindy said.
“I started banging on the doors to see if she was home,” Brian added. “If she was home and it was on fire, and she didn’t know … I knew it wasn’t going to be good. You never know how much smoke someone might inhale, things like that.”
Fortunately, Hardy had left to visit with family less than an hour before the fire started, but when firefighters arrived, neither they nor the Trains were certain the home was empty.
As a result, Public Safety Officer Fray Hatfield immediately instructed firefighter Paul Decess to make entry into the home.
GDPS Director Brian Blomstrom credited the fact that Decess was working station duty at the time the fire was dispatched, resulting in a quick response time by the department.
“Firefighter Paul Decess immediately made entry to ensure there was nobody in the house that needed to be rescued,” he said. “He found the house was clear, so at that point, with the arrival of additional firefighters, they went into an offensive attack mode to knock down the fire that they saw.”
Blomstrom said despite a heavy amount of smoke inside the home, Decess was able to search the home, determine no one was inside, and locate the source of the fire in the southwestern portion of the home.
“Firefighter Paul Decess was working on station today and he was an integral part of this,” he said. “He got here first and made sure nobody was trapped in the house. He coordinated the offensive attack with PSO Hatfield. As more firefighters arrived, they organized into groups and divisions and worked together to get the fire out.”
Blomstrom said no one was injured at the scene.
“They went in and found there was fire found both in the basement and a little bit on the main floor and the attic,” he continued. “We have no idea on the point of origin yet, but what that tells us is the fire may have been in the wall moving around.”
Blomstrom said because the fire was limited in size upon arrival of firefighters, they were able to make an offensive attack on the fire, battling it from within the home.
In addition to the response time by firefighters, Blomstrom noted that because of the Trains spotting the smoke as early as they did, it likely contributed to a potential save of the home.
“When there’s a quick call like that, when they immediately call 911 when they see smoke … If nobody calls until 20 minutes down the line, you could have flames coming out the structure. From what I understand, there was no visible fire, which means it was in an incipient stage of some sort, just starting to grow. There weren’t any flames going through the roof or out the windows.”
The Trains expressed all credit to the firefighters.
“We called, and in two minutes, they were here,” Mindy said.
“It was just a phone call,” Brian added. “They got here fast. I have to give them props.”
About 20 minutes into fighting the fire, Hardy arrived at the scene, and despite being distraught over the site of her home on fire, her concerns were with the firefighters.
She quickly informed emergency personnel at the scene that there were oxygen tanks both in her garage and in a closet within the home.
“I know firefighting, my ex-husband was a firefighter, too, and my son-in-law is the assistant chief with Stanton,” she said. “I know those kinds of things are dangerous.”
Blomstrom said that aside from some complications regarding renovations of the home, in which the attic was split into multiple sections, there were no serious problems fighting the fire. Additionally, the use of plaster lath instead of drywall in areas of the home slowed down the process of accessing certain areas.
A determination was eventually made to cut several holes through the roof — a process known as vertical ventilation — which is a strategic tactic to improve conditions within a burning building by venting heat and smoke.
That also allowed firefighters to attack the fire with hose lines from above.
“It looks like it was a good stop,” Blomstrom said. “There were a few holes we had to cut in the roof. The roof line has different sections because of additions put in over the years. We had to look at going into different sections of the roof to make sure that the fire was out and the extension did not move very far.”
Blomstrom said he’s hopeful the home can be saved.
“I don’t believe it is a total loss, but the insurance company will have to look,” he said.
Blomstrom said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
“We’ll bring out our investigation unit tomorrow and start going through the house in the morning,” he said. “I have no idea what caused the fire, but I have no reason to say it’s suspicious or questionable. The fire remains under investigation.”
Blomstrom also credited Hatfield with calling for additional manpower from the Montcalm Township Fire Department.
“PSO Hatfield made that determination right away and that was a good call,” he said. “We’d rather have people come early and send them home and not need them, versus waiting until it’s too late. This is a very labor-intensive deal, you don’t know where it’s going to go. Having enough people here makes it much easier to utilize different personnel in areas of the house.”
Blomstrom added that firefighters from both departments were able to work together cohesively, crediting the training involved.
“They are doing critical thinking techniques, looking at what they are going to do next,” he said. “As command officers direct them to specific areas of the house to perform a function, they are in there looking at the best way to do that, with minimal property damage. All the crews, between Greenville and Montcalm, did an exceptional job today, making it so really, this house is savable.”
Montcalm EMS assisted at the scene.
