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– Oceana County Sheriff’s Office photo
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP — An Oceana County sheriff’s deputy saved a bedridden man from a burning house Thursday night, March 27, said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.
Deputy Gavin Porter bravely ran inside the burning house to rescue the man and carry him to safety.
The fire occurred at 10:35 p.m. at 6989 S. Maple Island Road near Hesperia. When the deputy arrived, there were two female occupants of the home standing outside who indicated that a male occupant was trapped inside the burning house, said Sheriff Mast. They told Porter that he was bedridden, unable to walk, and they couldn’t get him out.
The sheriff said the women had attempted to extinguish the blaze with water, but the fire was out of control. They indicated that the fire may have been caused by a blanket touching a lamp.
The man was treated for smoke inhalation, said the sheriff, and the house is badly damaged.
Hesperia Fire Chief Bob Eichenberg said firefighters from Hesperia, Holton and Fremont battled the blaze, and the firefighters remained on scene until 1:08 a.m. Also responding to the fire were Life EMS and the Grant Township Fire Department rehab trailer.
“He was in dire straits,” said Mast. “He survived the fire that he surely would have perished in had the deputy not ran in and rescued him.”
This is the second time in less than six months that Deputy Porter risked his life to rescue someone from a burning house. He and Sgt. Cam Hanson pulled a 69-year-old disabled man from a house fire in Newaygo County, Dec. 8, 2024. Unfortunately, the man did not survive.
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