FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Four Farmington Hills police officers are being hailed for their extraordinary bravery after rushing into a burning home and rescuing eight people trapped inside, just moments before firefighters arrived.
Two of the officers who ended up hospitalized, Devin Hunt and Dean Turk, shared their experience with Local 4.
The fire broke out early in the morning on April 1, 2025, near 10 Mile and Middlebelt roads.
Officers Devin Hunt, Dean Turk, Tim Shingleton, and Antoneta Bucaj were the first to respond to the emergency call at approximately 5 a.m. They said they arrived to find the home already engulfed in flames.
“It was chaotic,” said Hunt, who has been with the Farmington Hills Police Department for four years. “Dispatch told us there were possibly some people inside. When we got on scene, there were flames coming out of the front of the house. People on scene told us others were still trapped inside. We were looking for a total of about eight people.”
Hunt, along with Turk -- who has 11 years of law enforcement experience, including time with South Haven and Grosse Pointe City, and fire service experience -- ran to the rear of the home where family members said people, including a little girl, were trapped.
---> Bodycam video shows officers rescuing 8 from burning Farmington Hills home
Turk kicked in the back door with a single blow. Thick, black smoke poured out, forcing the officers to crawl on their stomachs into the home. “We couldn’t see. We couldn’t breathe standing up,” Hunt said.
Inside, they found a man unconscious with a young girl pinned beneath him. Bodycam footage released by the department shows the dramatic rescue. Police believe the man had tried to carry the girl to safety before collapsing and pinning her there. The man was also pinned under what appeared to be a cabinet, police said.
Turk and Hunt took turns pulling the man and child through thick smoke, often retreating to catch their breath before going back in. Officer Shingleton, who also arrived on the scene, helped extract the victims once they were near the back door.
Turk and Hunt discussed their efforts to free the girl from under the man.
“When I had her in my hands and she went limp, I thought, ‘We gotta get her out of here.’ So I just pulled her. God forbid if a leg broke—we had to save her,” Turk said.
Ultimately, the officers rescued three individuals themselves, and eight people in total were brought out of the home by the combined efforts of police and fire personnel. Of the rescued, three were in serious condition, three in good condition, and two have since been discharged from the hospital.
The fire is believed to have started in a bedroom, according to Fire Chief Jon Unruh. Crucially, investigators determined that there were no working smoke detectors in the home -- a factor that may have contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze. Officials are urging all residents to regularly check their smoke alarms.
All four responding officers were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation. Hunt, Turk, and Shingleton had to be transferred to Detroit Receiving Hospital and placed on ventilators. Shingleton also sustained burns. All officers are now happily back to work.”
When praised as heroes, their responses were humbling.
“I feel like that’s what we’re made to do,” Hunt said. “We just did the right thing.”
“When people call us heroes -- I appreciate it -- but honestly, that little girl was braver than any of us,” Turk said. “She wasn’t crying or panicking. She calmly said, ‘Help me. I’m stuck.’ For her age, in that moment, she was incredible.”
Police Chief John Piggott praised the officers’ bravery.
“They go out there without a second thought to their own safety,” he said. “It’s selfless. I think it’s heroic.”
When asked if that morning changes how they view their roles, both officers agreed it highlights the unpredictability of police work.
“You never know what you’ll face,” said Turk. “We’re not just out there to arrest people. We’re here to help. To save lives. That’s why we wear the uniform… and if the same incident happened again tomorrow, we’d respond the same way.”