STANTON - A family of three is homeless after a midday fire destroyed their home Monday.
Three firefighters were trapped in the blaze but managed to extricate themselves. One required hospital treatment, however. At about 2 p.m. the Stanton Community Fire Department was called to 120 E. Walnut St. for a report of a chimney fire.
Firefighters arrived at the scene within five minutes and soon realized the call was much more serious after finding a two-and-a-half-story wood frame house with heavy smoke and fire pouring out from all over.
The Sheridan Fire Department was immediately called for assistance and the Crystal Township and Day Township fire departments were summoned soon thereafter. The house's owners, Johnny and Karan Gray, weren't home at the time of the fire. An adult son, Jason Epling, was watching the house while they were visiting friends out of town.
"I had a load of laundry going and I had just stepped out of the shower," Epling said. "The fire alarms started to go off and I started throwing water on the fire."
He called 911 and fled outside, still in his pajamas. Epling was unable to salvage anything from the house and was upset he wasn't able to find family picture albums before the flames forced him from the home.
Epling said his parents' two cats were inside the house and may have escaped through an open door.
He said the home, which was renovated last summer, was insured. The American Red Cross was on the scene to assist the family with locating temporary housing.
In all, more than 30 firefighters from five departments, including a Belding Fire Department ladder truck, spent more than five hours battling the flames amid frigid temperatures before finally extinguishing the blaze.
"The fire was burning well before we were called," Stanton Deputy Fire Chief Steve VanHolstyn said. "We were on scene in minutes of the call and the fire was already on all three floors of the home."
Three firefighters briefly were trapped in the flames as a section of the roof collapsed on them while they were on the second floor. However, the three escaped within minutes of the emergency.
Montcalm County Emergency Medical Services transported one of the firefighters to Sheridan Community Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and released.
VanHolstyn said the house's age and construction along with the extremely cold temperatures made it difficult to control the blaze.
"With the multiple collapses we couldn't get at all the hot spots," he said.
The Stanton Firefighters Corp. established a rehabilitation center for the firefighters, with food and beverages provided community members and area businesses including BC Pizza, the Brickyard Restaurant and Leppink in addition to the Red Cross.
"Every firefighter there worked hard to try to get this one out," VanHolstyn said. "With five departments that's a lot of personnel and they all worked very well together on this one."
Montcalm County Central Dispatch, the Montcalm County Sheriff's Office, the Stanton Police Department, the Stanton Department of Public Works and the Road Commission for Montcalm County also assisted at the scene.
Republished with permission from The Daily News
