Elderly man, 10-year-old girl suffer minor injuries in house fire.

Elderly man, 10-year-old girl suffer minor injuries in house fire.

Firefighters’ quick response saves home from destruction.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

FERRY TOWNSHIP — An elderly man and his 10-year-old granddaughter sustained minor injuries in a house fire Friday night, Oct. 28, at 3915 E. Johnson Rd., according to Cpt. Chris Ernst of the Ferry Township Fire Department.

“We’re still determining the cause of the fire,” said Cpt. Ernst, “but it sounds like the grandpa and the little girl were the only ones who were home at the time. Mom was at work. I think it started in the upstairs bedroom.”

The little girl appeared to have minor burns on her hand and arm. 

“I think the grandpa may have come upstairs and maybe attempted to put it out prior to our arrival and maybe was overcome with some smoke. I think he fell down the stairs and hit his head. He had a pretty good cut on his head that was bleeding. They were treated on scene by EMS, but they didn’t go to the hospital via ambulance. The family took them.”

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 8:26 p.m. and arrived quickly to salvage the house. Ferry was assisted by Shelby-Benona, Hesperia and Grant Township fire departments. Life EMS and the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office also assisted.

Upon arrival, the upstairs bedroom was involved. “We got it knocked down pretty quick,” said Ernst. “There was some fire and water damage upstairs and some water damage downstairs where the water came through the floor. When I first arrived, smoke was seen coming from the eaves.” Once inside, heavy smoke was observed in the upstairs bedroom.

The American Red Cross is assisting the family, and the Crystal Valley Care Fund has been contacted. The house is insured. The grandfather, the child’s mom and the granddaughter live in the house, said Ernst.

Firefighters cleared the scene at 10:50 p.m.

“We got there quickly and got a good knock-down and, for the most part, saved the majority of the house.”

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