Fire chief, sheriff’s deputy save teen from burning house.

Fire chief, sheriff’s deputy save teen from burning house.

The heroes also rescued three dogs from the fire.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

GRANT TOWNSHIP — Brayden Bishop, 16, of Rothbury was saved from a burning house Wednesday morning, Dec. 22, by Grant Township Fire Chief Dan Yost and Oceana County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Cavner.

Brayden awakened in an upstairs bedroom around 11 a.m. to smoke and alarms going off in the house.

“I wasn’t sure what happened at first, so I opened the door. And I knew exactly what happened from there,” said Brayden. “I grabbed my phone, and my phone was dead.”

Brayden said he quickly plugged his phone into a charger and called 911. Then, he opened a window to get some ventilation.

He did not attempt going down the stairs to escape. “I couldn’t see down the stairs — it was pitch black. I could feel the stairs, and I almost fell down the stairs actually. I was scared.

“After I was making the phone call, I was leaning out the window to get fresh air, and every time I looked back, there was more smoke. Right before I got out of the room, I couldn’t even see my door.”

His three dogs — a Shih Tzu and two labs — were also rescued in the frigid conditions.

“We extricated the person out of an upstairs window,” said Chief Yost. “He had a blanket hanging out the window, and his head was hanging out the window. We were able to get him out before the rest of the department got here, and then Cavner and myself were able to rescue the dogs. EMS checked him over and he’s good, probably a little cold because he wasn’t wearing any shoes or socks because he was sleeping at the time of the fire.”

Cavner and Yost were first to arrive on scene and used a ladder provided by the homeowner to save Brayden and his dogs. 

“He crawled out the window, and we carried him the rest of the way,” said Deputy Cavner. Then, they pulled the small dog off the window sill and pulled the other two larger dogs out of the window to safety, he said. “After that, fire arrived on scene, and they’ve been fighting the rest of it.”

The American Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the family, said Chief Yost.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. “At this time, it is still to be determined,” said Yost around noon. “Fire was coming out of the backside upstairs of the residence, so that’s where I’m assuming the origin is.” 

Some cats inside the house were unaccounted for, said the chief.

Shelby-Benona, Ferry Township and Montague fire departments assisted the Grant Township Fire Department. Life EMS also responded to the scene.

Deputy Cavner was presented the American Police Hall of Fame General Commendation Award for his bravery during an apartment fire in December 2016. Cavner, who was working as a Hart police officer, rescued residents at Parkview Manor apartment complex on East Main Street. 

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