Teens escape burning home in Pittsfield Township
Firefighters remove damaged roofing material from a house on Hickory Pointe Boulevard that caught fire in Pittsfield Township Friday afternoon.
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com
The fire started outside at or near an electric meter, traveled up the siding on the house and spread into the attic and the interior of the two-story home in the 5100 block of Hickory Pointe Boulevard, said Pittsfield Fire Chief Sean Gleason.
The siding on the house was in flames when firefighters arrived. By the time they had a hose inside, it had spread up into the attic, Gleason said.
Two teenagers who were home were outside when firefighters arrived, Gleason said.
The fire was reported at 1:13 p.m. Gleason said. Firefighters had it under control in about 20 minutes.
Crews were still on the scene shortly after 2 p.m. making sure there were no hot spots that could rekindle. They were also waiting for DTE Energy to arrive to shut off power so they could investigate whether the fire started at the electrical meter.
The home suffered fire, smoke and water damage throughout, Gleason said, and was not habitable. The residents were planning to stay with friends, he said. Firefighters estimated fire, smoke and water damage at $60,000-$70,000.
Comments
GreenPus
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 6:09 p.m.
That's two fires in two days where DTE took forever to show up and shut off the utilities. What is the cost to the taxpayers of having township resources tied up waiting like this I wonder?
Tammy Jones
Sat, May 19, 2012 : 1:43 p.m.
I was the person who called in the 911 call. There were actually 3 people at the home. The fire was coming from the middle of the home when we called it in then moved to the meter. Now that all the smart meter not smart questions have been answered the important question can be asked. When can the people have their home back. The family was devestated by their loss and all you care about are your petty political comments. Your are as bad as the looky loos that clogged up the streets so the fire department couldn't get in.
Kathy Sabol
Fri, May 25, 2012 : 5 p.m.
1000 votes up. Glad I'm not some of these people's neighbor!
Tammy Jones
Sat, May 19, 2012 : 3:31 p.m.
Meant to say fire was in the middle of the outside wall not middle of home.
DJBudSonic
Sat, May 19, 2012 : 12:50 p.m.
Was it a Smart Meter? That would be good to know. How about a little investigative journalism from Annarbor.com?
Brad
Fri, May 18, 2012 : 10:08 p.m.
Wow - nice tower truck. Wish we had one of those in Ann Arbor.
Ann English
Fri, May 18, 2012 : 8:59 p.m.
If Munger Road is part of the eastern border of Pittsfield Township, then Merritt and Hitchingham Roads are in Ypsilanti Township. If there's news taking place on the southern border of Pittsfield or Ypsilanti Township, I wonder if these discussions about where one township ends and another begins will take place as they are with east/west borders this week on annarbor.com.
pamgasp
Fri, May 18, 2012 : 11:16 p.m.
I live in Ashford Village just south of Hickory Pointe. ...the west side of Munger is Pittsfield Twp. And yes we have a goofy address...Ypsi address, Pittsfield Twp, Ann Arbor Schools
treetowncartel
Fri, May 18, 2012 : 7:25 p.m.
Conflicting info just so you know. The map here identifies it as a Ypsi Twp address while the headline and story identify as a Pittsfield location.
Gorc
Sat, May 19, 2012 : 12:09 p.m.
Google maps may be using the zip codes to indentfy locations. Pittsfield Twp. does not have its own US postal service. The east of the township uses Ypsilanti's postal service, while the west side of the township use Ann Arbor postal service.
grimmk
Sat, May 19, 2012 : 1:09 a.m.
Half my bills say I'm in Ypsi and the other half as Pittsfield. The sign that says welcome to Ypsi is just half a block from my house so who knows!!
tdw
Fri, May 18, 2012 : 8:36 p.m.
The area between Golfside and Carptender is goofy.Home Depot and Meijer ( just off the top of my head) have Ypsi addresses. And even some of the streets off Packard have Ypsi addresses
Julie Baker
Fri, May 18, 2012 : 7:39 p.m.
It's Pittsfield. Munger Road is the dividing line between Pittsfield and Ypsilanti townships, so I think there was a Google mixup. We've adjusted the map. Thanks for pointing that out.
smokeblwr
Fri, May 18, 2012 : 7:19 p.m.
Wow. I wonder if they had some electrical work done recently. Maybe one of those SMART meters?!?!?
Brad
Sat, May 19, 2012 : 5:03 p.m.
I think the real problem is that there is a group of people who are secretly afraid that the new meters will be smarter than they are. With good reason, I might add.
lyzz j
Sat, May 19, 2012 : 3:14 p.m.
llspier- I live in this neighborhood and our meters are indeed standard.
llspier
Sat, May 19, 2012 : 2:21 a.m.
Your reply is probably a little too basic, Bob. FYI-'Smart"-and Digital meters' come in several configurations. My digital meter looks exactly like my old analog meter until you get close enough to see it has a digital readout instead of the old analog spinning wheel inside. In fact, it looks just like that one! Most fires dont start in the meter itself but behind the meter-often due to faulty installation. Search 'smart-meters' + fires.
Basic Bob
Fri, May 18, 2012 : 10:35 p.m.
The meter is visible in the foreground of the photo. It's a standard meter. And it was not on fire when 911 was called.