Greenfield Police and Sheriff Deputy Save Lives

Trio of officers commended for rescuing family from fire

By NOELLE M. STEELE nsteele@greenfieldreporter.com

GREENFIELD — To the casual observer, 1018 W. Muskegon Drive is nothing more than a concrete slab on a vacant lot.

But to Stacy VanHorn, what remains in that space is a reminder of the night she and her two children awoke to find their home engulfed in flames with them trapped inside.

Two months and one week later the memories are still fresh: from waking up to the orange glow to leaping from a second-story window into the arms of a police officer whose help came not a moment too soon.

Last week, Patrolman Josh Mullins, Deputy Richard VanOsdol and Patrolman Brian Hartman received lifesaving medals from the Greenfield Police Department for their efforts that night.

The fire, later deemed the result of an electrical failure, started in the garage and quickly spread because of high winds.

VanHorn and her two teenage children were forced to a back bedroom as the flames grew increasingly hotter. VanHorn remembers hearing Mullins calling out to them just before she planned to throw the kids out the window. A surgical technician at St. Vincent’s Hospital, VanHorn knew hitting the pavement below was the best of a few grim options.

“Broken bones you can fix a lot easier than burnt skin,” she said. “I heard a voice down below in the dark, and there he was.”

Mullins caught VanHorn’s son and daughter, and Hartman and VanOsdol whisked them to safety away from the burning home. But before VanHorn could jump, she passed out from smoke inhalation and fell out the window head first.

The head trauma VanHorn suffered has made much of the night a blur. She spent the next day and a half in the hospital.

For her husband, the memories are sharp as ever. Jim VanHorn, a Pike Township firefighter, was working in Indianapolis when the blaze broke out in the middle of the night.

“I get this call, … ‘Dad, the house is on fire, and Mom’s hurt,’” he said.

Standing Tuesday morning in what was once their living room, the VanHorns reflected on the night that changed their lives.

In a puddle lay the charred remains of an instrument from Guitar Hero. A few feet away were the scattered cards of an Uno deck.

“It’s hard,” Jim Vanhorn said, looking at the few bits of debris that were still recognizable. “There’s no two ways about it.”

The VanHorns lived in a hotel for a week and a half before their insurance company found a rental home where they could stay. Since then, friends, family and strangers have come out of the woodwork to offer help.

But undoubtedly, the help the family is most grateful for is that which came from the police officers who first arrived on the scene.

Jim VanHorn expressed that gratitude before the Greenfield Board of Works and Public Safety last week.

“These gentlemen saved my family’s life,” he told the board. “There’s no two ways about it. They were trapped in the house.”

Greenfield Police Chief John Jester then presented each officer with a medal and certificate, as well as ribbons to wear on their uniforms.

“These guys truly stood in harm’s way … because as they’re trying to get these people out of the house, flaming embers are falling on and around them,” Jester said. “It was a group effort.”

Looking back, Jim VanHorn said his training as a firefighter went out the window when responding to a situation involving his own family.

“The job’s the job; there’s not a lot of emotion involved,” he said. “When it’s your own family, the fire doesn’t matter.”

The ordeal isn’t over yet. Next week, contractors will start work on a new home which won’t be completed until summer. The family has few things from the old house to put in it. Among the items saved were Stacy VanHorn’s wedding rings and an antique chair.

The material things, though, aren’t the ones that matter, Jim VanHorn said.
“We can always rebuild,” he said. “You can’t rebuild your family.”