DVIDS – News – Fort McCoy employee, Army reservist, saves family from house fire

Tyler Griffith, a heavy mobile equipment repair manager at Equipment Concentration Site 67 of the 88th Readiness Division at Fort McCoy, is being hailed as a hero after his quick actions saved a family from a fire potentially tragic house on the morning of May 24.

Griffith, a former U.S. Marine with extensive military training who currently serves in the Army Reserve as a staff sergeant, was out on his morning commute on May 24 when he noticed a manufactured home on fire near the intersection of Monroe County Highway Q and B, outside of Cataract. Wisdom.

“I turned onto one of the side roads and saw a porch on fire,” Griffith said. “The first thing I thought was, 'It's weird that someone would burn things so early in the morning.' » And then I realized that no one was there.

Without hesitation, Griffith pulled into the driveway, rushed to the door and woke the occupants, ensuring their safety.

“I said, 'Hey, you have to get everyone out and your house is on fire,'” Griffith said. He then helped put out the fire, quickly using a garden hose found on the property to save the family and their home from the flames.

Griffith arrived on the scene at a pivotal time, just minutes away from a potential tragedy for the family.

“I later found out that the fire department had said that if it had been another minute or two – or if no one had stopped – the parents would probably have been separated from their children and would not have been able to join them in the house. “Griffith said. “As someone who had children of my own, it was definitely a sobering thing.”

Annette Farrell, the mother of one of the occupants, took to social media to express her gratitude.

“A big thank you to a local hero, Tyler Griffith,” she wrote. “He single-handedly saved my son Neil, Sierra Tesar and my grandchildren from death in what could have been a terrible house fire this morning.”

Having served in two deployments to Iraq in 2006 and 2008, Griffith's extensive military experience may have played a significant role in his quick response to the family's emergency.

“I think military training itself prepares you for these situations in a way that is almost hard to understand because it seems automatic,” Griffith said. “I felt like I was on autopilot until afterward, and then the adrenaline kicked in and I was like… 'Oh, maybe I could have saved their lives.'”

Despite the extraordinary events of his morning commute, Griffith managed to arrive at work on time, causing a stir among his colleagues, family and friends, who jokingly called him Superman after being astonished by his nonchalant attitude towards to such and such. dramatic rescue.

“They call me hero… and firefighter and stuff like that when I tell them how it all happened and how I left without saying my name or anything,” he laughed . “They say, 'That's the most Tyler thing I've ever heard,' because that's exactly the kind of person I am. I never seek praise for what I do. It was just a normal Friday, except for the fire part – you know? I still had work to do.

As for what's next for Griffith, he's not seriously considering a career change to become a firefighter because he's already too busy being a hero to his family.

“No…I think that window closed,” he laughed. “I considered, at one point, doing things like volunteer firefighting… but I have a daughter who plays sports, so there's not a lot of free time in my life, and that's just as important to be there for my children. »

When asked what message he would share with others in similar emergency situations, Griffith emphasized the importance of helping others.

“Don’t be afraid to help people,” he insisted. “Any kind of action is better than inaction. Just treat people the way you would like to be treated. I mean, I hope someone would have done the same for me if the roles had been reversed.

Fort McCoy's motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the Upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for field and classroom training for more than 100,000 military personnel from all services almost every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at the Defense Visual Information Distribution System on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app on your smartphone and setting “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of the Army's Installation Management Command, where “we are the home of the Army.”