VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Members of the Van Buren Public Safety Department were honored Tuesday night for helping to save a 2-year-old girl from a house fire in December.
The girl's uncle, 14-year-old Savion Robinson, died while getting her to the door.
About a dozen 911 dispatchers, call takers, police and firefighters were honored at the Board of Trustees meeting. Their response to an early-morning house fire on Dec. 13 in the 4700 block of Denton Road helped save Amairyana Wells' life.
Seven people were in the home that caught fire, including four children.
Lt. John Henderson, a 15-year veteran of the department, was given a special honor for pulling Amairyana out of the home. She was burned over more than 50 percent of her body.
"I went in and felt around, went in farther, felt around again and finally found her," Henderson said. "I grabbed her and made for the door."
It took weeks in the ICU at CS Mott Childrens' Hospital, several surgeries and lots of prayer for Amariyana to pull through. But nearly four months later, her mother said that, other than the scars, she's back to her old self. For that, she's eternally grateful.
"I just can't thank him no more," Latrice Wells said. "I just keep thanking him and everybody for their bravery."