Hundreds show support for hospitalized Wayland fire chief [Video]

WAYLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — The Wayland community is rallying around its fire chief as he remains in the hospital after a cardiac emergency.

Many in the community continue to send thoughts and prayers to their fire chief, Jim Stoddard. They’re turning out for a man who’s turned out for them for decades.

Stoddard and his family are well known in the close-knit community of Wayland.

“I think it goes way back to the family ties to the community and stuff,” said Dan Miller, the deputy chief for the Yankee Springs Township Fire Department. “The whole family grew up around Wayland and stuck there.”

Stoddard has served in the fire department for at least two decades. He’s been Wayland’s fire chief for about three years now, Miller said. As a firefighter, he was someone crews could always rely on.

“He …