Robert B. Granaas died attempting to save Billy M. Baker from suffocation, Romulus, Michigan, October 10, 1983. Baker, 26, was overcome while cleaning an underground gasoline storage tank at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. His co-worker, Granaas, 24, fuel farm attendant, entered the tank for him but climbed out gasping. After alerting help, he re-entered and was forced out again. With a rope tied around him, Granaas entered the tank a third time. Once inside, he removed the rope, apparently to tie it around Baker, before he collapsed. Both men suffocated. 59370-6883
59370 – 6883
59370-6883Obituary
Robert Granaas died as he lived, trying to help someone. Granaas, 24, died of asphyxiation on Oct. 10, 1983, at Detroit Metropolitan Airport while attempting to save a fellow employee.
Although he was born in Livonia, Mich., and lived in Taylor, Mich., for a time, Granaas moved to Trenton at age 13 and was a 1977 graduate of Trenton High School. Granaas was employed by Page AvJet Company for about six years, and his job consisted of driving fuel trucks used to refuel airplanes.
Granaas was portrayed by Wayne County sheriff’s detectives as a “real-life” hero.
(Edited from an obituary in the Trenton Times, Oct. 26, 1983.)