An off-duty fireman has been recognized for saving a man from a burning house in Eupora last summer.
The house fire occurred the morning of July 29 at 78 E. Elm Ave. The fire started in the loft above a bedroom, according to the Eupora Fire Department. The homeowner got out after discovering the fire and called 911, but her adult son was still in his bedroom, authorities said at the time.
This account of what followed includes information from the Starkville Fire Department posted on its Facebook page on Feb. 22 and from family members of those involved:
Stephen Boren of Maben was working on a house in Eupora for his construction company when he noticed a number of firetrucks rushing to the nearby fire. A firefighter with the Starkville Fire Department and a volunteer with the Maben Fire Department, he was off duty at the time.
Boren responded to the burning home to see if he could help and discovered that an incapacitated man was inside the dwelling who could not escape on his own. While wearing shorts and a T-shirt, Boren took a self-contained breathing apparatus from a firetruck that had arrived on scene and made a quick search for the victim.
While searching he found the victim on the floor of his bedroom and with near complete ”blackout” conditions, he pulled the man to safety outside the home, right before the room went to flashover. Keith Green, a volunteer with the Eupora Fire Department, confirmed to the Progress-Times that he assisted Boren in rescuing the man.
The victim was taken by ambulance to North Mississippi Medical Center-Eupora for smoke inhalation. He made a full recovery from the fire, according to the SFD. Family members, in social media posts, identified the man as Kenny Threet, 61.
After pulling Threet out of the fire, Boren stayed on scene and pulled hose from the doorway to help other firefighters that were now dressed in full turnout gear go inside and extinguish the fire.
Boren, according to the SFD, stated that he only had a few seconds to get in and pull the victim out because of the heat and smoke from the fire. He said the smoke was down to about 12 inches off the floor when he pulled the victim out. Boren stated a few more seconds and he would not have been able to go in without a full set of gear on.
“Firefighter Stephen Boren showed an extreme amount of courage and heroism that day, and we here at the Starkville Fire Department are proud to call him one of our own,” SFD included in its post.
During the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 20, Oktibbeha Fire Services Coordinator Patrick Warner and the board members took the time to honor and thank Boren for his selfless acts of courage with a special proclamation for his service.
Boren is not the only hero in his family, according to his mother, Jerri Boren of Eupora. She said her oldest son, Lester, who is a paramedic-firefighter in Memphis, Tenn., rescued one of his fellow firefighters from a building where the roof collapsed on the firefighter. He was also awarded for that heroic action.
“Yes we still have heroes — at least in my family,” she stated. “I am very proud of my children.”
