Son saves couple from burning house

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - A Kalamazoo man rescued his disabled parents from the Sunday morning fire that destroyed their home.

Around 8:30 a.m., emergency crews were called to a fully-involved house fire the 400 block of Terrace Court. When they arrived, flames were shooting out of the house. Witnesses in the area say fire crews worked to keep the fire from spreading to other houses as they fought the blaze.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Matt Elzinga of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.

The homeowners were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. They were released by Sunday afternoon.

"They said, 'You could go home now from the hospital.' We can't come home. There's no home," said homeowner Judith Boyd.

Boyd and her husband are both disabled. He has stage four cancer and is bedridden. She uses a wheelchair.

They credit their son with saving their lives after the house caught fire while they slept upstairs. They had no idea that their home was burning until their son walked into their room to save their lives.

"I'm going to tell you, we would not be here. If he wasn't home, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be. We would just be gone," said Boyd. "He did it for his mom and stepfather. He did it for us."

The blaze began as a small fire, possibly started by an overheated power strip, firefighters say.

"It's gone. There's nothing left to it no more," said Rechell Smith, the daughter of the homeowners. She grew up in the home.

After Boyd and her husband were released from the hospital, they returned to what remains of the house to view the damage.

"It's just burnt. It's gone," she said.

But she knows it could have  been much worse.

"God is watching over us. That's all I can say," said Boyd.

The people who lived in that home are staying with family.

Two firefighters were also hurt as they tried to knock down the flames. One of them had to be checked out after a piece of that house fell on top of him.