WYOMING, MI — A woman didn’t know if she would survive a raging apartment fire until firefighters staged a dramatic rescue with a 35-foot ladder.

“We were having problems breathing,” said the woman, who was rescued from a third-floor apartment Monday, Jan. 19, along with her sister and young niece.

The fire happened about 8:45 p.m. Monday at Crossroads Apartments, near Clyde Park Avenue SW and 44th Street.

The woman spoke to MLive/The Grand Rapids Press Thursday, Jan. 22, but asked not to be named.

She said she had been relaxing in her apartment when she realized there was a problem.

“We started hearing the alarms. We heard people screaming ‘fire, fire!’,” the woman said.

She called 911.

The woman and her family looked to escape out the main entrance, but found the stairs on fire.

“Everything was happening so fast,” she said.

They tied bed sheets together, thinking they might be able to climb down from the window.

But they also thought about jumping — until firefighters arrived and quickly extended a 35-foot ladder to the window.

Wyoming firefighters released a helmet-cam video on Tuesday, showing the rescue.

Firefighters can be heard telling the family “Do not jump!”

The video shows a firefighter first grab the child and bring her down.

“Thank you,” a woman can be heard, panicked. “My baby, my baby.”

Then the two women climb down to safety.

The woman who spoke to MLive said she left the apartment with only her clothes.

She lost everything in the fire — money, a cell phone and keepsakes.

The nearby Big Top Market, on Clyde Park Avenue, offered $200 food vouchers for residents displaced in the fire.

Vince Grill, a supervisor at the store, said the store owners just want to be good neighbors.

“They are in the community and we just wanted to help,” he said.

Wyoming Fire Marshal Brad Dornbos earlier said that 33 people in 33 units were displaced because of the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Wyoming is known as the “Cowboy State.” Lately they have made several moves to prove just how committed they are to that saying.

One of the very public statements the state has made came in reaction to a request by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). According to the Cowboy State DailyPETA sent a request in 2024 that Wyoming institute a law to allow people to opt out of a license plate that proudly displays the silhouette of a cowboy riding the legendary saddle bronc horse Steamboat.

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The letter from PETA stated, “If you continue to promote rodeos, we ask that your license plates at least more accurately reflect the cruelty that animals exploited for entertainment endure with the silhouette of a bloody spur.”

In response, Wyoming decided to face the request head on with their solid answer. In January 2026, WYDOT unveiled a new license plate to give people another option. The option is a full on rodeo specific plate.

All reports lead to Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, being behind the push for the response plate. When the new plate became available, Sen. Boner sent a letter to PETA.

“Our newest license plate elevates the very traditions you hoped we would set aside,” he wrote. “Rather than minimizing the presence of horses and riders on our roads, we opted to celebrate them even more prominently.”

A portion of the money from the rodeo plate will go to support the University of Wyoming and other community college rodeo programs within the state.

Wyoming Makes More Moves to Support Rodeo

The recent activity from the state of Wyoming continues to prove its commitment to rodeo and the western way of life. Two cities in particular have reached out in hopes of securing the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and the PRCA headquarters.

Cheyenne, Wyo. was the first location reported to be interested in getting the organization to move its headquarters. An email was sent to members on November 5, 2025 notifying them that a change was being considered. While at the time, the email indicated that this was simply a consideration and “far from certain”, Wyoming has gone on to become much more serious.

The economic development organization called Cheyenne LEADS has reportedly pledged $15 million to help entice the largest rodeo organization in the world to make the move. Along with that, just recently, the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee recommended that the state offer another $15 million as an incentive in its draft budget.

This money would be tagged as “tourism” related, but given that the ProRodeo Hall of Fame is being considered for the move as well, this would fit.

Now, the city of Cody, Wyo. has stepped forward, expressing their interest in being the home of the rodeo organization.

Cody has a strong Western heritage and culture. The nightly rodeos all throughout the summer, along with one of the biggest PRCA rodeos over the Fourth of July run, all add to the lure of Cody, Wyoming, and its support of cowboys and rodeo.

Cody has dubbed itself as the “Rodeo Capital of the World”, so its representatives feel like Cody would be a better location over Cheyenne, but did admit that the ultimate goal is to work for the state and that if the headquarters of the association is going to make a move, they just need to ensure that move is to Wyoming.

What Will the PRCA Do?

This is truly the biggest question facing all involved. While both Cody and Cheyenne say they have met with PRCA CEO Tom Glause on several occasions, the PRCA has downplayed the move.

In an interview with 5 KOAA News, PRCA Chief Marketing Officer Paul Woody said, “The move is beyond the preliminary stage. It’s been thought through and discussed at length, but there’s no pending vote from our board of directors on when or if we would accept an offer,” said Woody.

Not everyone is excited about the move. Even some of the Wyoming lawmakers have expressed concern over lack of transparency involved in the preliminary stages.

PRCA members have also voiced concerns. While certainly members have valid concerns, ultimately it will be the PRCA Board of Directors who will make the decision.

Should Wyoming go forward and make the $30 million a concrete offer, that could entice the association and its board beyond any concerns of their members.

The officials from the PRCA have said that they are simply exploring the opportunities and want to make sure that if and when a move were to happen, it will benefit the membership and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

There will, no doubt, be heated discussions on this topic, likely among many. Members of the PRCA, members of the Hall of Fame and even Wyoming government officials and residents have something to gain and something to lose in the transaction.

With the spotlight on the move, some in Texas have also stepped forward with the idea that it would make sense to have the headquarters located within their state.

Over the coming months, this is sure to be a hot topic and when more information becomes available, Rodeo On SI will be your source.

More Rodeo News

Early morning earthquake rattles Utah near the state’s border.

Utah was hit by a 4.7 magnitude earthquake just before 8 a.m. Thursday.

The earthquake’s epicenter was about 6 miles south of the Wyoming state, and a few miles west of State Route 150, said Keith Koper, the director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations.

You can report if you felt the quake on the U.S. Geological Survey’s website.

According to that website, people felt the earthquake as far north as Richmond and as far south as Provo.

In Reddit’s r/Utah subreddit community, some said the shaking was strong enough to wake them up, while others thought it was a nearby train rumbling or cats moving their dresser.

By mid-morning, Koper said instruments had recorded at least six aftershocks from the earthquake.

Throughout the day Thursday, there was a chance that people along the Wasatch Front might feel aftershocks, he added, and in the coming days, there’s a 1-2% chance that Thursday’s earthquake could indicate a larger earthquake to follow.

When a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck Magna in March 2020, Koper said the area experienced aftershocks for several years.

He found Thursday’s earthquake particularly interesting because it happened “in a really unusual place,” miles east of the Wasatch’s main fault zone.

“For us, it’s sort of like a puzzle,” Koper said. “Why exactly did this earthquake happen where it did? … What can we learn about the faults in this area?”

It was in such an unusual place that some of the seismometers closest to its epicenter were almost removed after state budget cuts, Koper said.

Without those seismometers, researchers would have been more limited in studying the epicenter’s relationship with more hazardous fault lines in Utah, Koper added.

He did not specify which cuts led the program to weigh removing those seismometers.

“We hope that the Legislature in this session would not add further cuts to our program,” Koper said. “As a state seismologist, I need to advocate that what we’re doing is public safety.”

Currently, the program is “entering an era of austerity,” Koper said, adding they continue to consider closing stations.

Koper said Thursday’s earthquake likely caused little to no damage.

Still, he added, people in Utah should generally be prepared for quakes by strapping their hot water heaters in place and making sure nothing heavy is hanging over their beds. He also recommended people follow the steps outlined on the Utah Seismic Safety Commision’s website.

Researchers have learned that there’s a 50% chance of a significantly larger earthquake in the Intermountain West within the next 50 years, Koper said.

“Those are the ones we’re super worried about,” Koper said. “That’s why we have the seismic network.”

Studying earthquakes, like Thursday’s tremor and the 2020 Magna quake, allow researchers to know better when Utah can expect a major earthquake, he said.