UNION, Mich. — Firefighters responded to a fire Monday morning after their fire chief called in a fire at his own home.
Porter Township Fire Chief Mike Holdeman said just like every other homeowner who experiences a fire, he had to fight the urge to go back in the house to put out the fire, WSBT reported.
“The urge to go back, and see if you can do anything about it was all there,” Chief Holdeman said. “But from my training, I know that I cannot do that, that would be a very dangerous thing to do, so I was able to put that aside.”
Chief Holdeman said he used his fire radio to call dispatch about a fire on the second story of his home. He got his family and pets out safely.
“I guess, I’d never realized, quite to the extent, the emotional end of it and that kind of set,” Chief Holderman said. “Actually, sets in now more than it was at that time.”
He was wearing two hats in this particular situation — concerned about his family’s safety and also about how the fire would be dealt with.
“It definitely puts a little bit, adds that little bit of extra emotion, into responding to the scene because you know, we know it’s one of our own and we know the family,” Asst. Chief Bill Sullivan said. “There’s certainly that extra urgency to get in there.”
There was moderate damage to a second floor bedroom. No one was hurt in the fire.
This is the second fire involving a home belonging to a Porter Township firefighter in the last week, according to the report.