Tri-Township, MI, Fire Capt. Injured at Blaze Months after Losing House to Flames

CHESANING, MI — Days after being grievously injured battling a blaze in Chesaning, a local firefighter is recovering at home with his family. It’s the second time in less than a year flames have plagued the family, as fire consumed their St. Charles home over the summer.

“It’s been a really rough year for him,” said Sarah Theile of her husband, Capt. Zachery “Zac” Theile. “On top of this, he’s stressing out and wants to go back to work to make sure the kids have Christmas. He’s a hard one to keep down, but we’re forcing him to.”

Capt. Theile, 37, has been with the Tri-Township Fire Department since 2012. The department services St. Charles, Brant, and Swan Creek townships.

About 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, crews from several area departments responded to a fire at a commercial storage facility at 721 W. Broad St. They arrived to find fire in two of the storage units, said Chesaning-Brady Fire Department Chief Scott Fall.

High winds and the building’s layout complicated efforts to fight the fire. Crews made an aggressive attack and contained the blaze to the two original units, Fall said.

With the fire extinguished, crews were conducting overhaul operations when Theile fell about 12 feet through a ceiling, Fall said. He landed on his back on his Air-Pak but remained conscious and alert as his colleagues rendered immediate aid.

His wife was at work Monday afternoon when she received a phone call from her husband’s cellphone. Thinking nothing of it, she answered the call, only to be greeted by the somber tone of another firefighter’s voice.

“I knew immediately,” Sarah Theile said. “The first words out of my mouth were, ‘What happened? What’s wrong?’ I was in pure panic. I knew as a firefighter’s wife to always expect things like this to happen, but you never really expect it to be your family until it is.”

Sarah Theile rushed to Covenant HealthCare where her injured husband had been taken by paramedics. While Zac Theile avoided burns, he suffered three fractures to his vertebrae along with bulging discs, a sprained ankle, and a damaged elbow.

Despite the injuries, Zac Theile was talking and joking when his wife first saw him.

“I was so thankful he was OK,” she said. “Even in the amount of pain he was in… Anybody who knows Zac knows he is a giant goofball. He’s always trying to make everybody laugh, and his sense of humor is ridiculous. He was cracking jokes with doctors, then he’d start laughing and be like, ‘Oh, I need to stop. That hurts.’”

After spending the night in the hospital, Zac Theile was discharged the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 12. He is now resting at his Thomas Township home, wearing a back brace with stringent weight and movement restrictions, his wife said. Unable to do much and with his pain being medicated, he’s passing the time watching reruns of “Gunsmoke” and film favorites like “Jurassic Park,” his wife said.

The Theiles have three children, two daughters ages 15 and 14 and a son who turns 12 on Nov. 18. In July, the family lost their home due to an electrical fire.

Sarah Theile’s cousin, McKenzie Pollard, has started a GoFundMe campaign to offset medical expenses and help provide the children with a Christmas. The page has garnered more than $5,000 in donations as of 10 a.m. Wednesday.

“Plenty of people are showing their love, which I’m so thankful for,” Pollard said.

Sarah Theile added she “could not be more grateful” for the waves of public support her husband has garnered.

When her husband will be able to return to work is unknown. They are meeting with a neurologist next week to check on his progress.

“He’s in a lot of pain; we’re managing it the best we can with what was given,” Sarah Theile said. “It’s a long process.”

Chesaning-Brady Chief Fall said he’s both relieved Theile wasn’t more seriously injured and appreciative of the public’s support. What befell Theile is also a sobering reminder of the risks inherent with being a firefighter.

“Personally, I feel awful about it,” Fall said. “It’s the chance we take every time a call goes out.”

He added the cause of the Broad Street fire remains under investigation.

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