KINGSLEY — An early morning house fire in Kingsley claimed the life of Clifford Merrick, a Battle of the Bulge veteran who just celebrated his 90th birthday.
The fire broke out Saturday around 4 a.m. at the Jackson Road home Merrick shared with his wife, Sally, and a handicapped woman the couple was helping.
Family friend Rick Conley said Sally Merrick awoke to screams early Saturday, and found the woman on fire on the home’s lower level. Sally was able to drag the woman to safety, but was unable to reach Clifford on the second floor. The home was destroyed.
Sally is being treated at Munson Medical Center, and the woman is at a burn unit in Grand Rapids.
The Grand Traverse County Rural Fire Department continues to investigate.
See tomorrow's Record-Eagle for more on this story.
10:30 a.m.
One man is dead and two others were hospitalized after an early morning fire destroyed their home in Kingsley.
The fire broke out around 4 a.m. Saturday. Sheriff Tom Bensley said an elderly man died in the blaze, and two women in the home were taken to hospitals for treatment.
