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Aug. 15, 2004
By JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
Staff writer
A fire Saturday afternoon sent one woman to the hospital and a frightened dog into the arms of caring neighbors.
Bob Harkness, 61, rents an attached apartment to the Park Township residence and was upstairs reading when he "smelled
something kind of smoky" at about 1:40 p.m.
"Then the smoke alarm went off and I ran to the stairs," he said.
Entering the stairwell he was met by light smoke and he called 911. He descended the stairs and began ringing the
doorbell and knocking hard on the door to the main part of the house to alert anyone who may have been inside.
One of the homeowners, Lynn Meyers, was eventually located and taken to Holland Community Hospital for treatment of
smoke inhalation. She was treated and released Saturday evening.
Meyers and her husband, Bruce TarHar, own the home at 305 Home Ave., at the corner of Elden Street. An adult daughter
occasionally stays at the home and at first Meyers told firefighters her husband and daughter were still inside.
"I just hope they're still not in the house," said a worried next door neighbor, Jodi VanDyke.
Firefighters searched the entire house and found no one else. Authorities had telephone contact with the daughter
from another location.
Meyers was believed to be sleeping when the fire began.
"She must sleep like a rock because I was just poundin' on that door," said Harkness, who's lived at the
residence six years.
The doors were locked upon arrival and firefighters from the Park Township Fire Department had to break in.
Just minutes after opening the front door, a brown and tan dog poked its head outside and waddled onto a small porch.
Neighbors shouted the dog's name.
"Come here, Jack!"
"Come on boy!"
The chubby beagle dashed toward the small group of women and children.
Jeni Johnson lifted the dog up with both arms and took him across the street, setting him down in a patch of shaded,
cool grass.
His eyes watery and his legs shaking, the dog received comfort from the group.
He was later seen running in a neighbor's back yard, and appeared to be uninjured.
Meyers was escorted slowly from the house by a firefighter and a deputy of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department
just moments after the dog emerged.
They had the woman sit down under a tree and gave her oxygen before she was transported to the hospital.
Ed DeVries, of the fire department, said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. The origin of the fire
appeared to be in the kitchen area, he said.
There is smoke damage throughout the house. The fire damage is limited to the kitchen area, he said.
Assisting at the scene was the sheriff's department, AMR emergency personnel, and the Holland Township Fire Department.
Contact John Charles Robbins at (616) 546-4269 or john.robbins@hollandsentinel.com.
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