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'I just want to give him a hug': Grand Rapids woman looking for man who saved her from burning home

"I said to a lot of people that the world is so gross right now that you don't expect the kindness of strangers," said McColgan. "I'm just so overwhelmed."

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids woman wants to thank the man who helped save her life.

Renee McColgan says she wouldn't have made it out of her burning home alive if not for this mystery man.

McColgan arrived to her home at 11th Street NW around 1 p.m. Thursday, June 8 and laid down on the couch for a nap.

She wasn't awakened by her smoke alarms, rather the sound of something else.

"The next thing I know I have a man at my door screaming fire," said McColgan. "'You gotta get out of your house! You gotta get out of your house!'"

She ran outside to flames engulfing her deck and the back of her house.

"I realized at that moment my cats were still in the house," said McColgan. "I started screaming and tried to run back in but the man wouldn't let me, understandably." 

Grand Rapids Fire arrived and began putting out the fire. They also helped her find her four cats and four foster kittens. 

"I said to a lot of people that the world is so gross right now that you don't expect the kindness of strangers," said McColgan. "I'm just so overwhelmed."

McColgan lost her home and belongings, but hopes to find the man who helped put her faith back into the West Michigan community.

"Thank you so much. If I could give you everything, I would." 

She described him as white, burly, bald, and he was wearing a red shirt and black shorts.

"I would really, really love to meet this man."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

A GoFundMe has been created for McColgan to help her back on her feet.

    

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