Deputies save mom, 3 kids from apt fire

GAINES TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - As a fire grew inside a third-floor apartment in the early hours of Monday, six Kent County sheriff's deputies rushed into the Woodfield Apartments and battled thick smoke to save four people.

The deputies first arrived at the Gaines Township complex around 1 a.m., and though firefighters were minutes behind, there was no time to waste.

By the time deputies got there, many residents managed to escape the thick smoke, but some were still trapped inside.

A wall of smoke forced the deputies to crawl down a third-floor hallway as they went door-to-door. They smashed open the door of an apartment where a mother and her three children had gone out to the balcony.

"We started crawling down the hallway, the smoke level was coming down to the point where we
couldn't even get good air laying on our stomachs," Deputy Kevin Daley told 24 Hour News 8.

Daley led the mom and her oldest son outside. Deputy Ed Kolakowski carried out the two youngest children under his arms.

"I told mom and the eldest son, 'You know we're going to have to take a big breath and we'll run to the stairs, and we'll get you through this,'" Daley told 24 Hour News 8. "We ran out to the stairs, got them down, my partner (Kolakowski) was carrying the two kids behind me and we safely got them out of the apartment there."

While the smoke was widespread, the fire was confined to the one apartment. Everyone -- including Deputies  Daley, Kolakowski, Andrew Jonkman, Joel Langeland, Jason Postma and Julie Vogelzang -- was treated for smoke inhalation and later released from a hospital.

It was a gratifying experience for the deputies.

"Just us being able to do our job and see their faces when we're done, that thank you went unspoken," Daley said. "It was a phenomenal feeling for us."

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A statement from Woodfield Apartments --

"Management of Woodfield Apartments is very grateful for the prompt and dedicated actions of all the first responders at today’s fire. We very much appreciate the sacrifices the individuals from Kent County Sherriff [sic] Department, Cutlerville Fire Department and Kentwood Police Department made to ensure the safety of all our residents. We are also thankful for the American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids for providing on-site emergency response support to our residents and responders.”