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Mich. firefighter loses house in fire, then job

Tom Stuart II lost his job as a firefighter for insubordination; he said it had to do with his efforts to drum up support for his family

Detroit Free Press

EATON RAPIDS, Mich. — Tom Stuart II and his fiancee, Kayla Grimm, woke early on New Year’s Day to a house filled with thick black smoke.

Stuart, a volunteer Eaton Rapids firefighter, opened a window and saw flames coming from the home’s first floor. He and Grimm and their two-month-old daughter, Kinsley, escaped through the bedroom window and watched as the fire consumed the home they were renting and everything they owned.

“Clothes, toys, Christmas presents, the T.V., it’s all pretty much gone,” said Stuart. Four days later, Stuart lost his job as a firefighter for insubordination. Eaton Rapids Fire Chief Roger McNutt declined to comment on the specifics of the termination. He said Stuart “failed to follow orders.”

Full story: Michigan firefighter loses his house, then his job