Fire breaks out in previously tornado-damaged Dexter home

By Pete Cunningham Sports Director

Posted on Tue, Jun 26, 2012 : 11:40 a.m.

A fire broke out Monday night in a home heavily damaged by the tornado that struck the Dexter community in March.

The home is in the 3500 block of Noble Drive in the Huron Farms subdivision, one of the areas most heavily damaged by the March 15 tornado that brought widespread destruction to parts of the Dexter area.

Early Monday evening, the all-too-familiar sound of sirens rang through the neighborhood as the Dexter Area Fire Department responded to a house fire at 6:06 p.m.

The 3500 block of Noble Drive in Huron Farms subdivision in Dexter suffered some of the most severe damage during a tornado in March.

Firefighters were on the scene by 6:09 p.m., and were able to quickly extinguish the fire and minimize damage to the room of origin, said Lt. Michael Grissom.

Grissom said the department used a thermal imaging camera to determine the source of smoke billowing from the home was a small fire inside an attic space above a closet.

The scene was clear by 7:06 p.m. with the majority of the time spent making sure insulation inside the walls wasn’t in danger of reigniting.

“We wanted to make sure we got all of that under control,” Grissom said.

The home was still under construction after suffering tornado damage back in March and therefore had no personal belongings inside. Damage was limited to drywall, carpet, insulation, and some structural damage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and a damage estimate was not available.

The Scio Township Fire Department responded to the fire as well.

Below you can see video from the 3500 block of Noble Drive in Dexter after a tornado in March: