Ecorse brothers rescue man from house fire

ECORSE, Mich. (FOX 2) - Earlier this week Darrius and Malachi Freeman of Ecorse had a day they won’t soon forget.

"We thought about it for like a week now, we're still thinking about it. It was just crazy," Darrius  said

Darrius, 21, and 19-year-old brother Malachi say had they just got done helping their mother when they saw a neighbor who needed a whole different assist - with their house on fire on 14th Street.

"We had dropped my mom off. She was coming from her foot doctor appointment," Darrius said. "We were seeing the smoke from 14th in front of our house.

"We went around through the back and we saw a man in the window trying to get out. And we got him out, and helped him."

The Ecorse Deputy Fire Chief tells Fox 2 the man in the home was sleeping at the time of the fire, and got woken up by his dog - but was trapped after recent foot surgery made it hard for him to get out on his own.

The fire began in the laundry room from the dryer, said authorities.

The Deputy Chief credits the Freemans for their quick thinking.

FOX 2: "What was going through your mind?"

"It was just instinct," Darrius said. "We just saw somebody, we just had to get out and help. The dog was already out so, so we just ended up getting out of the car and saw him. "

Related: Livonia teens who saved woman, son in house fire talk about rescue

"It wasn’t really too much to think of," said Malachi. "We weren’t really scared or anything in the moment. We just had to go over there and help him out."

Ecorse is a city of just under 10,000 which means it is a little community where everybody knows each other, said Darrius.

"We all love each other," he said.

The Deputy Chief says the victim was treated on the scene and is doing well.  City Council will be honoring the Freeman brothers at some point in the days ahead.