Ron Jones helps Amber Mickles into his overalls at Wednesday morning's below-zero fire scene. (Photo via WXYZ)
Ron Jones, a Detroit firefighter for 21 years, is saluted as "Person of the Week" by WXYZ for what the station calls "a gentlemanly gesture" action during Wednesday's four-alarm blaze on the west side.
While Glenda Lewis and her camera operator were at the Jason Manor Apartments scene, the reporter says she spotted "a firefighter's simple act of compassion that showed the spirit of the entire Detroit Fire Department."
The Engine Company 30 driver gave Amber Mickles, a 22-year-old shivering evacuee, his heavy overalls and boots before grabbing backups to replace them. "I saw that all she had on was a sweatshirt," he tells Lewis. "It was the father in me. . . . Our goal is to help as many people as we can."
Jones's five children include one about Mickles' age, Lewis says. "Compassion came before protocol," she adds during this follow-up interview:
