PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The burns on Tim Johnson's left hand and head are still bandaged. They serve as evidence of his bravery.
When a house in his Plainfield Township neighborhood went up in an explosion of light and fire on Tuesday, a deadly incident which the Kent County Sheriff's Office is now investigating as an attempted murder suicide, Johnson rescued a woman from the burning wreckage. He may have saved a life.
"I never thought about it when I was in there. I never gave it a thought," Johnson said to FOX 17 on Wednesday.
The sheriff's office says the woman and another man were likely in the house at the time of the blast. While, after being rescued, the woman was brought to a hospital where she was last listed in critical condition, the sheriff's office says the man likely died as a body, which has yet to be positively identified, was later recovered from the house.
The man and woman were married and going through a divorce, according to court records, and detectives believe the fire was intentionally set by the man.
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When Johnson heard its booming sound on Tuesday morning, he and his wife were already awake.
"My wife started screaming," Johnson said. "I gave her the phone and ran out the door."
They were less than a thousand feet away from the blast, a few doors down the road on Rollaway Drive near 7 Mile Road.
"I saw flames and I heard a lady screaming, so I ran out with my socks on and I ran toward the house," Johnson said.
Johnson made multiple attempts to help the woman to safety, but the flames were hotter than anything he had ever felt. Eventually, and with the help of another neighbor, he was able to pull her to safety.
"I just did what I did. There’s no way I was going to leave her in there because she was alive and calling for help," Johnson said. "There was no way I was going to leave her in there."
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What Johnson did, he did for someone with whom he had never had a conversation.
He's now hoping she can survive her injuries.
"I just saw her yelling, 'Help me. Help me.'" Johnson said. "I just went in."
