KENTWOOD, Michigan — With the wheelchairs and the walkers, it certainly takes time for the residents of American House retirement community to load onto a bus.
But the group climbing aboard for Friday's excursion knows more than most that every moment is worth it.
“They kept me from harm," smiled Judy, a resident. "They don’t get enough credit for what they do."
“Praise the lord for any fireman," agreed another resident.
“It's gonna be fun to go back and see their reactions," said Megan Burch, executive director.
Older and wiser, those at American House have heard the phrase 'you should seek those who fan your flames.' Today, though, they’re headed to those who extinguished them.
“We came down here to thank the fire station," said Megan. “We did a luncheon, and all our residents wrote cards, and we have gift bags for them. So, we just really wanted to say thank you for all their efforts that they did that day.”
The sight at Kentwood Fire Station #3 on Friday was a sweet one. Firefighters greeted the residents to plenty of fanfare and red, white and blue-decorated posterboards.
You'd never guess their connection started out of something so dark.
“We were notified that we had a structure fire there,” said Brent Looman, City of Kentwood Fire Chief.
By the time Brent and his crew got there, the last of the residents were being wheeled out. And where the beloved retirement community once stood was replaced with a screen of black smoke.
Over 50 firefighters were called to the scene. They battled the flames for over six hours.
“We run EMS down there regularly," he said. “We know a lot of these folks. So it kind of hit home right away with that.”
Megan always knew her job would mean wearing a lot of hats. But she never expected one would be a fire helmet.
“I was in my office, just a normal day working," she said. “I looked up and there were flames coming out of the attic.”
The fire began when crews were working to repair the HVAC system. A fire sparked and in the attic, where the air was dry and the walls were coated in insulation, it spread quickly.
“We just started grabbing residents wheelchairs and just formed an assembly line of gathering as many as we could and wheeling them out the front door," said Megan.
They brought them to another building nearby where they would be safer. Megan's staff tried to keep the residents distracted with pizza and Bingo while she made calls.
“Hearing the family members cry that their loved one was safe, they had worried for so long that they hadn't heard anything, that was amazing for me," she said.
One month later, out of those flames came a new bond – forged in fire.
“Being able to come back and say thank you to the team… one of the best moments of my life," Megan smiled.
Firefighting can be a thankless job, it’s practically part of the code. But Friday brought thanks by the busload.
“We don't really get these reunions very often," said Brent. “It was awesome day, you bet."
