PORTLAND, Mich. — A Portland apartment complex is destroyed after catching fire early Friday morning. All 24 residents are fortunately unharmed, thanks in part to a police officer who helped get them outside.
In the parking lot outside of Edgemont Apartments, a pile of personal belongings salvaged from the building was scattered on the ground.
Chanda Lefke was one of several people digging through it, searching for things that belong to her dad.
"This is something my son, Logan, made for him for a concert," said Lefke, holding a John Fogerty record framed alongside tickets to a concert.
One of the few memories Lefke is happy to recover for her dad, who lived in the building. He called her for help and she rushed over as soon as possible.
"I live about a mile out of town and I could see the flames as soon as I came over the hill," she said.
Lefke's dad, along with every other resident, got out alive and unharmed.
"They're all taken care of," said Portland Fire Chief Tim Krizov. "And that's the important thing."
Even one resident's cat, which was rescued after it got outside.
"Obviously wet and scared but they seemed ok," said Lori Hall, who helped capture the loose cat.
Chief Krizov said it wasn't a resident that tipped them off to the fire.
"We got reports that a Portland PD officer showed up and he had active fire in the building," said Krizov. "At that point, he started getting residents out."
Springing to action in a building with no fire suppression system and where one resident said he didn't hear an alarm at all.
Lefke said an alarm may not have even been enough for her dad.
"That extra loud beating on the door is what got him up enough to check," she said.
And while the recovered memories in the parking lot are nice, it's her dad's life that has her most appreciative of that officer.
"Thank you so much," said Lefke. "You saved not only my dad, but probably 20 other people."
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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