It started out as a normal, afternoon run last Wednsday, when conservation officer Robert Slick saw white smoke near a mobile home that turned dark fast.
"I could see white smoke come up," Slick said. "I kind of figured that somebody just had a bonfire, cooking with a charcoal grill or something like that. Soon after that, it turned into black smoke and it was just getting thicker."
Upon seeing the smoke, Slick went to investigate and saw about 10 people outside of a mobile home engulfed in flames.
He made sure 911 was called before, he and a fellow Good Samartian went into the home to see if anyone was trapped inside, and found an old woman in distress.
"Eventually, somebody said that there was still one person in there, so me and another gentlemen that was standing around the mobile went in the back door," Slick said. "we were able to pick her up and carried her out, then I carried her to another porch and was able to get her into a chair."
The woman appeared to be unharmed from the fire.
Once an on-duty deputy from Ottawa County arrived on scene, he relieved Slick as the off-duty officer continued on his run.
When asked if he felt like a hero, Slick said he was simply doing what anyone else in law enforcement is trained to do.
"I just felt like I was doing my job," Slick said. "I didn't feel any sort of panic at all. We're trained to react to those high-stress situations and everything and still make decisions."
