Allendale Fire Department helps wheelchair sports camp celebrate its completion

It’s an 80-degree day in Ottawa County. The sun is beating down on the pavement outside Grand Valley State University’s fieldhouse. It’s the perfect day for a water fight. With the blowing of a whistle, firefighters from the Allendale Fire Department turn on their water cannons. Campers from Mary Free Bed’s Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp roll themselves quickly toward dozens of buckets they’ll fill with water and dump all over each other. This celebration marks the end of the camp each year. It’s a day the campers, volunteers, instructors, and firefighters all look forward to. Brad Dion knows first hand. “This camp is the first thing that goes into my calendar every year. I actually build my whole summer around this calendar to make sure I’m here, local, and available to be here at this camp,” said Dion, who describes every day of the camp as being like Christmas morning.
WZZM-TV ABC 13 Grand Rapids

Rochester Hills Fire Department called to two water rescues in 48 hours

The Rochester Hills Fire Department said it was involved in saving three people at two different water rescues over the span of 48 hours. According to the fire department, the first call came into Sunday afternoon near Yates Cider Mill on Avon Road when a 50-year-old man jumped in near the low head dam. The fire department said the man was pulled into the current which is known as a hydraulicr jump. Two other people then jumped in to try to save him but they were also pulled into the turbulence. They did, however, manage to pull him from the water but he was not breathing or responsive as the two started CPR until firefighters and paramedics arrived. He was taken to the hospital but his condition is not known. According to the fire department, the dam helps divert water from the Clinton River to Yates Cider Mill for its operation.
WBJK-TV FOX 2 Detroit

No one injured in apartment fire in Flint’s Buckham Ally

No one was injured in an apartment fire in downtown Flint’s Buckham Alley Thursday, according to firefighters. Flint firefighters responded to a report of a commercial fire that was upgraded to a possible entrapment in the building directly adjacent to The Torch Bar and Grill in Buckham Ally around 3:50 p.m. Thursday, July 29, Fire Battalion Chief Mark Kovach said. It was discovered that the fire started in an apartment in the top floor of the building, Kovach said. Residents in the building, including a lower floor resident in a wheelchair, were evacuated. The Torch and Comma Bookstore were also evacuated. The fire was quickly contained, Kovach said. Fire damage was isolated to the top-floor kitchen area of the apartment, which was under renovation, and the roof directly above it, he said. Water damage will likely extend to other lower floors of the building.
Mlive.com

Retired Orleans Township Fire Chief honored for nearly 60 years of firefighting

Leslie “Les” Doty grew up in Orleans Township knowing that he wanted to make a difference in his community. Approximately 60 years after becoming a firefighter, Doty is retiring with the knowledge that he’s succeeded. Doty, who has served as chief of the Orleans Township Fire Department since 1968, was honored for his service and commitment to the department and the community with a ceremony on Monday evening. Born and raised in Orleans Township, Doty first became a fireman in 1962, when the Orleans Township Fire Department hadn’t even been formed yet. “Before we started the fire department, we had the Orleans Township Civil Defense Department in the early 1960s,” Doty recalled. “We built a building for our firetrucks by ourselves back then, which we had for a few years.” When the Orleans Township Fire Department was formed in 1968, Doty was promptly named chief. He continued to hold that title up until his retirement on April 1.
The Daily News

2 treated for smoke inhalation after malfunctioning machine in Battle Creek causes fire

Two people suffered minor injuries from a large manufacturing fire Wednesday morning in Battle Creek. Firefighters were called in at 9:25 a.m. to a building owned by Transcontinental Michigan at 155 Brook St., according to a news release. Rescue 3 pulled an attack hose line, made an interior attack and quickly gained control of the fire with help from the fire suppression sprinkler unit that was directly over the machine that was on fire. Fire units then performed ventilation to remove the trapped smoke in the building and checked for fire extension. No firefighters were injured, but two company employees were checked by EMS for smoke inhalation.
WXMI-TV FOX 17 Grand Rapids

Police are investigating a fatal shooting on U.S. 31 in the Muskegon River flats

Police are investigating a fatal shooting on U.S. 31 in the Muskegon River flats. The shooting was reported at 11:58 a.m. Wednesday, July 28, on northbound U.S. 31 in Muskegon Township. Several witnesses told police that a silver or gray Jeep pulled alongside the victim’s vehicle before several shots were fired. The victim’s vehicle left the road and went into a swamp. Rescuers determined that the 22-year-old victim, alone in his vehicle, had suffered a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital where he died. Police asked anyone with information to contact Muskegon Township police or Silent Observer. Others assisting in the investigation were Muskegon County sheriff’s deputies, state police crime-lab workers, Muskegon and North Muskegon police and Muskegon Township firefighters.
Mlive.com