City man honored for saving woman’s life

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Local resident Thomas Staup was honored Tuesday by city officials, including Mayor Jerry Mazur, Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming, and Fire Chief Jon Jones, for saving the life of an elderly neighbor in December 2018.

It was a cold winter’s day on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, and Staup, who lives in the 500 block of Burt Street, was taking a nap on his living room couch when he noticed smoke and fire coming out of a neighbor’s house shortly after 2:15 that afternoon. Knowing the woman who lived in the house used a walker and had a hard time getting around, Staup jumped up and ran to the burning house.

“He went over there in shorts in the middle of winter, busted through her front door, and she was sitting at her kitchen table,” said Chief Jones, adding that the woman was unaware that her house was even on fire. “He assisted her out of the house and over to his home, where she went in for some shelter.”

Staup, a former law enforcement officer in Allen County who had also worked at Lima Correctional Institution, and had spent a tour of duty in Germany as a military policeman in the U.S. Army, said his response was part of his training as a first responder.

“It was just second nature, I tell you, I didn’t even think about it,” said Staup. “The only thing I thought about afterwards, I was like: ‘Hey, I ain’t getting paid for this no more’.” 

Fire Lt. Brian Ankney, who was in charge of VWFD efforts in fighting the fire, noted that firefighters were at first unsure if there was someone in the house when they arrived, but later talked to Mr. Staup and discovered the house’s resident was safe.

In recognition of his lifesaving action, Chief Jones presented Staup with a plaque and a VWFD Challenge Coin for his actions.

“To the fire department, our motto is ‘guarding my every neighbor’, and, with his act of bravery, I think (Staup) echoes this to the fullest degree,” the fire chief said. 

Lt. Ankney said the fire apparently started in a storage area of the residence, but no cause of the fire was ever determined.