Scio Township homeowner recalls fire that destroyed his home during Friday's storm
David Pinsky talks to a Scio Township firefighter outside his burned home on Saturday afternoon. The house burned after being struck by lightning during Friday night's storms.
Steve Pepple | AnnArbor.com
The main part of the large home was gone, collapsed into the walkout basement, looking much like a bomb had hit it. Only the brick and stone façade of the home still stood, along with the attached garage.
“It was a beautiful house,” Pinsky said, sadly. “We designed it from the ground up. … We moved in, in 2005.”
Pinsky had spent most of the night watching firefighters battle the blaze after he, his wife and three children escaped the burning house when it was hit by lightning.
“We heard a sharp crack,” Pinsky said. “During the storm, we were all huddled in the basement.”
The main part of the house collapsed into walkout basement, leaving only part of the brick and stone facade still standing.
Steve Pepple | AnnArbor.com
Although his home was destroyed, Pinsky credited the firefighters for their efforts throughout the night to save his house, located in a secluded, wooded area, north of the Huron River, off Maple Road.
Pinsky’s was one of at least three houses in Washtenaw County that caught fire after they were apparently hit by lightning during Friday night’s fast-moving thunderstorms that roared through the area, downing trees and power lines. The storms were blamed for at least one death. A 47-year-old Stockbridge woman was killed when her full-sized van ran into a large tree that had fallen across North Territorial Road, near Madden Road, in Dexter Township. Her 11-year-old daughter was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.
In addition, the storms were responsible for the partial collapse of a building near Whitmore Lake, which injured one person, said Marc Breckenridge of the county's emergency management division.
A Pittsfield Township firefighter was injured about 11:15 p.m. when he fell through the floor of a home that caught fire on McKendry Drive, near Willis and Platt roads, in York Township, Pittsfield Public Safety Director Matt Harshberger said.
The family escaped the fire when the father heard the lightning strike, checked the house and discovered a fire in the basement, Jackson said. The family got out before firefighters arrived.
Harshberger said Pittsfield firefighters responded to the McKendry Drive fire to cover for Saline firefighters, who were on another fire call. He said the large house was struck by lightning, and firefighters from several departments were called to assist.
A firefighter fell through the floor into the basement and was rescued by other firefighters, Harshberger said. He and one other firefighter were transported to the hospital for evaluation, and a third firefighter was evaluated at the scene, Harshberger said. The injuries were believed to be minor.
Firefighters evacuated the home and fought the fire from the outside, Harshberger said.
Another fire, also believed to be caused by lightning, occurred in Lodi Township on Duible Road. Saline firefighters were still at the scene of that fire at 1 a.m. waiting for utility crews. No one was injured, but further details weren't available.
The building collapse occurred near Horseshoe Lake and injured one person, who was transported to the hospital by ambulance, Breckenridge said. No additional details were available.
AnnArbor.com News Director Amalie Nash contributed to this story. Steve Pepple is the print director at AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-6232523 or stevepepple@annarbor.com.
Comments
jcj
Sun, Jun 20, 2010 : 9:02 a.m.
To insinuate that someone that has just lost their home built it hastily is unconscionable!
jcj
Sun, Jun 20, 2010 : 8:46 a.m.
@Andy Jacobs If you had ever been involved with the construction of a home in Ann Arbor or Saline in the last 30 years you would not question whether a home was built hastily/poorly! There are standards of construction and inspections that are not easily bypassed. This was not a chicken coop! There are circumstances that arise during fires that are best questioned by the experts.
AlphaAlpha
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 7:56 p.m.
All - If you live away from hydrants, consider investigating a neighborhood dry hydrant. These are special, dedicated wells, for FD use. They don't cost much more than regular wells; many area drillers can install them, and most insurance companies recognize them as hydrant equivalent, meaning huge savings on fire insurance, if you reside within typically a 1/4 mile radius of the dry hydrant. Multiple homeowners can easily lower the per home cost to just a few hundred dollars, making the payback period often less than one year. Dry hydrants are great, underutilized, valuable tools.
acd5835
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 7:28 p.m.
Indeed, the Scio Township home was not the site of the firefighter through the floor. Upon the initial unit arrival, the fire was already through over 50% of the roof. An interior attack was mounted briefly, however it was abandoned when the initial unit ran out of its 2500 gallons of water. By the time additional water arrived, the structure was too involved to enter so the rest of the operation was done primarily from outside the home. Shortage of water was the primary factor all night, and several other factors worked against the fire departments - very limited access to the property down narrow private roads, shortage of available mutual aid apparatus due to other fires in the surrounding areas at the time, several railroad crossing gates at Huron River Drive were malfunctioning (and down) preventing large apparatus from crossing, large distance from the fire to the water filling site, a large 4000+ square foot home and more. Departments present were Scio, Dexter, Ann Arbor Township, Northfield and Salem. Definitely a very challenging fire. In the end no one was killed or injured.
talker
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 6:28 p.m.
Also, it's possible to be in the basement, leave the basement to check upstairs, and return to the basement.
talker
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 6:20 p.m.
I believe that the Scio Township is not where a firefighter fell through a floor. According to the article, a firefighter fell through a floor in a home on McKendry Drive in the Saline area. It was a Pittsfield Township firefighter and that's because of an arrangement among fire departments to back up each other. Thus, if you have questions about construction, it would be of the house in the Saline area, not the house north of the Huron River.
Steve Pepple
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 6:09 p.m.
@Blerg, thanks for pointing out the error. The story has been updated to list the correct road as Maple Road.
Blerg
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 5:55 p.m.
The article says the Scio home was, "north of the Huron River, off Wagner Road." Doesn't Wagner end at Huron River Drive *south* of the river?
Steve Pepple
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 4:28 p.m.
@Andy Jacobs - these were two separate, but similar fires - one in Scio Township and the other in York Township.
Soothslayer
Sat, Jun 19, 2010 : 4:25 p.m.
First: We heard a sharp crack, Pinsky said. During the storm, we were all huddled in the basement. Then: They thought a tree limb had gone down, but when they went upstairs to investigate, they smelled smoke Finally: the father heard the lightning strike, checked the house and discovered a fire in the basement Weren't they in the basement in the first place? Also I'm VERY concerned that a firefigher fell through the main floor. It should have been designed to last much longer and have been stronger than that (unless it was a poorly/hastily built McMansion). Firefighters need to be able to depend on and be afforded some reasonable assurances (e.g. home wasnt poorly/hastily built to begin with) when trying to do their job.