Fire guts vacant three-story house on North Main Street in Ann Arbor
Firefighters battle a blaze in house at Main and Summit streets in Ann Arbor Thursday night
Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com
A fire gutted a vacant three-story house at 726 N. Main Street in Ann Arbor Thursday night.
The blaze started on the first floor, but had spread to the third by the time firefighters arrived, said Ann Arbor Fire Battalion Chief Robert Vogel.
One firefighter was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for treatment of a shoulder injury he suffered while trying to move a ladder, Battalion Chief Robert Vogel said.
The house was one of three in the area boarded up, Vogel said. It is slated for demolition to make way for the proposed Near North affordable housing complex.
As for the cause of the fire, “it’s hard to say,” Ann Arbor Fire Chief Dominick Lanza said. “It could be homeless people trying to stay warm,” he said before adding he would defer judgment on the cause to the fire investigator. It wasn’t an electrical fire because the power had been cut off, he said. The fire spread quickly from floor to floor, Lanza said. “The kind of construction these houses are, there’s nothing to stop the fire from going up and down,” he said. The home’s boarded-up condition hindered firefighters in battling the blaze, Vogel said.
Vogel said the firefighters had the blaze, which was reported about 8:45 p.m. by employees of the Summit Party Shoppe Deli next door. under control by 10 p.m. Firefighters were leaving the scene just after 11, he said.
John Delly, who works the Summit Party Shoppe Deli, said he and co-workers smelled smoke and went outside to check. They saw smoke billowing overhead and immediately called 911.
The fire was the second in the area in two months. In September, a blaze gutted the top floor of a three-story home that had been converted to apartments.
Comments
captain_k
Wed, May 18, 2011 : 3:06 a.m.
i've been in that house, and it was disgusting. there were needles (from IV drugs no doubt) on the floor waiting to be stepped on, and the bathroom was unbelievable. the toilet was full past the brim with feces and the 'residents' apparently began to use the bathtub instead. even if it hadn't burned, it was still an appalling health hazard.
BobbyJohn
Tue, Dec 14, 2010 : 6:15 p.m.
Abandoned buildings are a health hazard to the community. The building code is about safety and health. Even Detroit is able to get their act together and tear down abandoned buildings. Why is Ann Arbor not doing at least what Detroit is doing? According to Ed Vielmetti in the comments area, the house that collapsed on N. Main had been vacant for 19 years.
pbehjatnia
Sun, Dec 12, 2010 : 2:46 p.m.
I have to say it: fire gutted a boarded up house. The AAFD could not fight the fire efficiently because the house was boarded up. The boarded up house is within feet of at least one structure and within sparking of another boarded up house. If this fire had not been noticed i.e., the party store had been closed, it would have just spread to the adjacent buildings. The old houses burn better than any fireplace. They are a fire hazard and an attractive nuisance. Why isn't city council cleaning the boarded up and abandoned buildings inn the city?
Ann English
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 7:29 p.m.
There used to be a run-down house on the southwest corner of Wagner and Scio Church Roads, and I don't remember hearing or reading about it ever burning down, collapsing or being knocked down. Where it stood (or leaned) is clean today, and it was probably township government that handled its demolition and removal. It was not boarded up. Sometimes an old house around here ends up getting a nice remodeling job. One such house on Foster Road across from much newer homes did get remodeled without any additions put on.
Atticus F.
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 3:24 p.m.
Good Idea league bus...Then we can tear down the investments of 15% of property owners during rough economic times and "send them a bill" after we've wiped out their investments. Sounds fair.
leaguebus
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 1:56 p.m.
Just leave the boarded up houses alone, some squatter will burn it down and then the bulldozers roll. Saves trucking all the wood to the landfill. How many of these kind of fires have we had in the last few years? How hard would it be to have an ordinance that says if the house/building is boarded up, it has to be reoccupied or razed within six months or the city will knock it down and bill the owner.
81wolverine
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 1:20 p.m.
I wish the city would place a higher priority on redeveloping this North Main corridor, which has looked very blighted for many years. Yes, there have been a few newer buildings developed. But even a few abandoned, rotting old houses can really drag down the way an entire neighborhood is perceived. Since N. Main is a major route into Ann Arbor for residents and visitors alike, it behooves the City to try and make it better.
Milo
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 12:07 p.m.
Dont blame the homeless, blame The developer Three Oaks for deliberately causing the "blight" of these formerly occupied houses in order to gain the political will and the public sympathy that allows them to be torn down. And they want to tear them down to build a publicly funded building that allows them a way out of a bad real estate investment.
blahblahblah
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 10:59 a.m.
@Peter Baker said, "They have been vacant for the better part of two years, as the Near North development stalls in City Council." Yet, the last article (link above) on the development said it had received council approval and was waiting on tax credit funding from the state. It would be nice to have an updated news story on this development with comments from Avalon Housing and their developer partner. It would also be nice to have a news story about the city's housing code enforcement. Eventually, even the infamous Michigan Inn was forced to erect a fence around it for safety concerns.
Frank D
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 9:43 a.m.
Maybe the City Council should pass an ordinance banning house fires or banning people from being homeless.
Peter Baker
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 9:24 a.m.
A few more clarifying points: - This was one of the houses that was going to remain in place as part of the Near North development (at least, according to the latest plans I had seen). It and the house to the right are under the flood plain, and were to be rehabbed and rented, or, alternatively, torn down and turned in to green space. - The houses were boarded up, but as a neighbor, I know there were squatters occasionally occupying the space. They have been vacant for the better part of two years, as the Near North development stalls in City Council. And just my own opinion; the level of sarcasm on these comments boards is just getting ridiculous. People blame the city for not asserting themselves, expecting the Mayor to hop on a bulldozer and tear down any house they see fit, yet constantly rail against the roll of the "overreaching" city government in matters of property rights. The city has only a minor role in what can be done with these houses, and certainly has no right to claim eminent domain to tear them down, and if they did try to do so, these comment boards would blow up with "Dear Leader Hieftje and his Politburo cohorts" cynicism.
Peter Baker
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 8:51 a.m.
"I hope when they "develop" that area, they consider cleaning up that party store on the corner, which is a magnet for people to hang out, purchase and drink alcohol nearby, etc. I used to live not to too far from there, and late at night, that corner can be a less than safe place to walk because of the party store and people hanging out in the front on the street." You're kidding me, right?
scoobysnacks
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 8:03 a.m.
The City can do nothing to demo the abandoned/blight buildings until they hire specialists to study what the impact would be to the rats, cock roaches, ants, and box elders living in and around the structures. There are many different species of rodents, bugs, and insects that have built homes in these places and they have rights too! Lets all stand together to save these innocent creatures from the long steel boom of a hydro-hoe and the big steel blade of a bull-dozer!
pbehjatnia
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 7:04 a.m.
Great. The AAFD was called out with multiple trucks, a FF was injured. Why? Because a property owner has left three houses to rot Detroit style on North Main in Ann Arbor. The three houses are in addition to the former Greek church on North Main and the burned out house at e corner of Kingsley and Ashley - which, btw, has been allowed to stand in it's attractive nuisance condition for at least six years along with he leaning shell of a detached garage on the same property. I would really like to know why the city is not enforcing code on these owners? Why taxpayers in Ann Arbor are left to pay to live next to structures that are boarded up, burned out, stripped, covered in shredded plastic, full of garbage? Please dear city council and great leader Hieftje tell me why?
dading dont delete me bro
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 6:40 a.m.
is that house near the pinball pete house fire?
Sallyxyz
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 6:29 a.m.
Too bad that the fire was so out of control so fast, given that the fire station is only a couple blocks away. Glad no one was hurt. I hope when they "develop" that area, they consider cleaning up that party store on the corner, which is a magnet for people to hang out, purchase and drink alcohol nearby, etc. I used to live not to too far from there, and late at night, that corner can be a less than safe place to walk because of the party store and people hanging out in the front on the street.
KeepingItReal
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 6:03 a.m.
Blame the homeless. Makes you wonder.
Jay Thomas
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 1:16 a.m.
I recall reading here about another fire in that immediate area not too long ago.
Chris Goosman
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 12:55 a.m.
It's curious that the firefighter was taken to St. Joe's when the other hospital is so near this fire.
a2tom
Fri, Dec 10, 2010 : 12:11 a.m.
Nice Photography!
M-Fan
Thu, Dec 9, 2010 : 11:15 p.m.
"Avalon Housing has proposed building an affordable housing complex, known as Near North, in the area." I thought a developer was proposing a building with 17, 1 bedroom units of "affordable" housing that would be under Avalon's control, but the rest was for a developer. I think I heard the developer was local.
SillyTree
Thu, Dec 9, 2010 : 11:11 p.m.
It is fortunate that this dwelling was unoccupied. I see from the photos that Ann Arbor responded with several trucks and that the fire appears to have been extinguished. It is my hope that no one was hurt during this incident. I do not see a reason to speculate on the cause of the fire or to call anyone names. I am not certain who lives across the street or why they might be suspected, but the article does not offer any information even pertaining to neighbors across the street. If you have information that supports this, please forward it to the AAFD and AA.com. I have friends from the Ozarks who use the name Hillbilly among themselves, but do no not appreciate it being used in a depricating manor. I am not really sure what black helicopters are. Does Ann Arbor use them for firefighing purposes?
M-Fan
Thu, Dec 9, 2010 : 11:07 p.m.
Who's house was it, how long empty, any insurance???????
YouWhine
Thu, Dec 9, 2010 : 10:22 p.m.
I can't wait until the city council and Big Rog get their way... A simple fire like this will rage on and probably spread to the VERY NEARBY neighbors while every hillbilly with a red light on their 1984 pickup truck races around town to find out where they are supposed to meet up with the one guy who is on the fire truck. I hope A2 has a good zoning plan for in-ground pools.
dading dont delete me bro
Thu, Dec 9, 2010 : 10:17 p.m.
did anyone see the black helicopters?
yourdad
Thu, Dec 9, 2010 : 10:11 p.m.
sorry Chris, you are wrong... the story is about a house fire that was reported by a party store... Not the actual party store. Hopefully they will get us a good news update about the injured ff.