Detroit firefighter to be awarded for rescuing man trapped in burning home

DETROIT – The annual Above and Beyond Awards will be held Thursday night, honoring Detroit’s police, fire and emergency responders — including a firefighter who ran into a burning home in search of the homeowner who had made the wrong decision and was trapped.
About seven months ago, Jim Davenport was rescued from his home in Palmer Woods by Sergeant Joe Easterling. But, both men remember those critical moments like it was yesterday.
“While I was in there, I thought I knew everything to do, but of course, I panicked,” said Davenport.
At first, though, Davenport didn’t panic when he saw the flames. He was sweating a pipe in his basement when he quickly put out a hotspot.
Upstairs, his wife was on the phone with the fire department when she turned a corner and saw the room engulfed in flames.
“Fire jumped from the front of the house, from the library, which covered the front door. It jumped into the family room, which covered the back door,” Davenport said.