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Mike Swingerum (left), James Miles and Richard Vining stand in front of teh building where they rescued tenants from a fire in October. The three men were awarded a commendation for heroism from the Ypsilanti Township Board.
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When most people say they were putting out fires at work, they don't mean it literally.
However, three men who helped save victims from a burning apartment building are being honored as heroes for skipping their lunch break.
The Ypsilanti Township Board formally honored James Miles, Mike Swingerum and Richard Vining Dec. 19 for their heroic actions during a structure fire at Camelot Apartments in October. The three men work as service technicians for the Ypsilanti Township apartment complex.
While deciding where to eat lunch, the three men noticed smoke pouring from a furnace vent on the roof of one of the buildings. Miles called the fire department and the men rushed to evacuate tenants in the building.
The group of men broke windows and used ladders to rescue people from the blaze.
Only one of the three employees has more than a year on the job. Vining, the most senior employee, has been working for Camelot Apartments for less than two years.
The fire, which took place Oct. 20, caused $1.2 million in damage. Fire personnel from the city of Ypsilanti and Superior, Ann Arbor, Pittsfield and Ypsilanti townships, were on the scene. Three other departments were on standby.
The fire started at about 1:30 p.m. Ypsilanti Fire Chief Larry Morabito said it took an hour to control the fire, but the department did not leave the scene for another four hours.
"Somebody fell asleep cooking," Swingerum said. "They were sleeping through the whole thing."
One of the tenants in the building had fallen asleep while cooking fries on his stove. The men had to wake the man up to get him out of the apartment. Vining broke through the man's window and pulled him through to safety. The men said the tenant was sleeping through his smoke detector's alarm.
In all, the fire affected 12 apartments.
Carolyn Brewer, the complex's manager, said the four apartments most heavily damaged by the blaze have to be rebuilt. Separated by a firewall but still a part of the building, two other sections received smoke and water damage. Each section contains four apartments. The whole building had to be evacuated during the fire.
Brewer and her daughter lived in the section where the fire started, but Brewer was on vacation and her daughter was at school when the fire took place.
Brewer said she had lost two uncles to a house fire that was started when her grandfather fell asleep while smoking a cigarette.
Miles said he lost his family dog to a house fire he caused as a child. He said he had been playing with matches and one struck a mattress. The mattress caught fire instantly and quickly spread into a structure fire. He said the incident has made him uncomfortable around fire ever since.
"Those three individuals were definitely heroes in this situation," Morabito said. "Their actions saved the people from serious injury or worse."
One person was hospitalized during the incident. The woman had a pre-existing heart condition and was sent to the hospital because of the stress the fire caused her.
"Only you can prevent apartment fires," Miles said.
The group said people should learn something from what happened.
"The main thing is having a smoke detector," Swingerum said.
Brewer said only two out of the ten families effected had renters' insurance. She said insurance is important because a lot of families lost everything in the fire.
Morabito said civilians should only attempt to help people escape fires if the situation does not put you at risk. He said it's important that the fire department is notified right away. On occasion, Morabito said, everyone at the scene assumes somebody else had called.
"There is no excuse for cooking food and walking away," Morabito said. "When you're cooking, you should be in the room at all times."
He said leaving food on the stove is one of the most common causes for starting a kitchen fire.
The three men received a resolution accommodating their heroism from the township board. Morabito said the fire department will frame the men's resolution with an Ypsilanti Township Fire Department patch.
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