Crew Stunned as Man Walks out of Burning Building in Canton, OH

An hour into the operation, the man walked out, cursed Canton medics who tried to treat him and ran away.
Oct. 28, 2025

"Shock and awe."

That's the only thing Canton Division Chief Steve Henderson could say when, after a boarded up building burned for an hour, a man simply walked out.

“Came out the front door and walked past the crews, they tried to stop him and question him, and he just walked off,” Henderson told Fox 8.

He said he'd never seen anything like it during his 27 years on the job.

The three-story apartment building that had been boarded up was too dangerous to do an interior search. So, firefighters searched rooms from ladders after bystanders said there were three people on the third floor. 

They didn't find anyone.

That's why crews were stunned to see a man walk out. 

When medics tried to check him out, he yelled expletivies at them and ran away. 

 

About the Author

Susan Nicol

News Editor

Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues. 

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