FLINT -- Mid-Michigan firefighters risked their lives rushing into a burning building to save a man trapped inside. Flames burned the firefighters, and a 47 year old man who was trapped inside died.  It's a story that has received a lot of attention because of the recent cuts to the Flint Fire Department, and has had local residents calling NBC25 concerned about their safety. 

Late Monday night a home on Bennett Ave. burst into flames. The closest fire station, which was two blocks away, was manned but did not have a truck that could put water on the home.

Ray Barton, President of the Flint Firefighter Union, explained, "when you close two stations then you're going to have delayed response and things like this is going to happen."

Three firefighters risked their own lives and ran through the flames to get to the man trapped on the second floor, but the stairs had already been consumed.

A woman jumped out of a second story window to escape the flames. She went to the hospital, but will be okay. The three firefighters have first and second degree burns, but have been released from the hospital.

Mark Kovach was a firefighter on the scene and says if they had the proper equipment, things might have been different.  “Potentially, if we would have had a hose-line we could have pulled right away, you could have enough fire to keep the heat off the person to go upstairs to make the rescue," Kovach stated.

The Flint Mayor's office says it is doing the best it can with the resources available. The Fire Department says it has a city plan that it keeps updating to make sure it's addressing the residents’ needs in the best and most efficient way.

"It's not giving the residents fire protection," Ray Barton stated concerning the cuts to the department. However, the city and the Fire Department say that evaluation is not fair and that this is a classic case of timing. "This same situation two weeks earlier probably would not be page one material so to speak because bottom-line, we probably would have had the same outcome," Flint Assistant Fire Chief Deandre Williams remarked.

 All parties involved say they did the best they could with what they had, and that fires are dangerous and the outcome is sometimes fatal.

The Flint Fire Fighters Union and the Flint Police Officers Association will be holding an informational picket in front of City Hall regarding the cuts in public safety tomorrow before the city budget hearing.