Explosion, fire destroy tent at homeless encampment west of Ann Arbor
A resident of Camp Take Notice lost most of his belongings Tuesday morning after a small propane tank exploded in his tent, causing a fire that destroyed it, according to fire officials.
Scio Township Fire Department Chief Carl Ferch said firefighters were dispatched at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday to the homeless encampment, located west of Ann Arbor off Wagner Road between Jackson and Elizabeth roads. A large outside fire had been reported before a camper called dispatchers and notified them a small propane tank had exploded, Ferch said.
The man was not at the camp when the fire began and no one was injured, Ferch said. Firefighters used shovels and fire extinguishers to put out the blaze after traversing the trail that leads from Wagner Road down to the camp.
“That’s the only way in and they were probably 700 to 800 feet off of Wagner Road,” he said. “We used shovels and extinguishers because it was too far to stretch (fire hoses).”
Camp Take Notice is a tent city set up for people who would otherwise be homeless. It’s currently on Michigan Department of Transportation land and there has been some debate regarding whether the department will allow the camp to remain on the land.
Brian Durrance, a board member for the Michigan Itinerant Shelter System-Interdependent Out of Necessity (MISSION), said fire department crews arrived shortly after being notified and managed to put the fire out before the fire spread to any other part of the camp.
“A camper called 911 and they (firefighters) were on the scene very quickly,” he said.
The Scio Township Fire Department had to close off southbound Wagner Road for a period of time Tuesday morning in order to get to the fire, according to Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derrick Jackson. Deputies were in the area to help move traffic, he said.
The Dexter Area Fire Department provided assistance to Scio Township firefighters, Jackson said.
The four-person tent was about 12 feet by 12 feet. Jackson said several trees in the area were charred and scorched.
“It appeared to be a larger tent and had quite a bit of bedding, clothes (and other items),” Jackson said.
The investigation into the fire is continuing, Ferch said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Ricardo Queso
Thu, May 10, 2012 : 12:11 a.m.
You naysayers do not understand the Juche idea as demonstrate by our loyal com, er, campers.
Darryl Gritman
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 7:14 p.m.
I just read this site's "conversation guidelines".....unreal. Pretty much what one would expect from an Ann Arbor "news" organization.
jns131
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:50 p.m.
Boy did I miss out on all the deleted comments. This is one heated debate. As for me? There is a homeless shelter that everyone screamed about. Didn't want built, got built and we have that? Wow.
MISSION Board Member
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:48 p.m.
Points for clarification and discussion: 1. The instigator of the fire was a candle left burning unattended. This happens in brick and mortar homes, as well as tent comes. This was reported by the camper whose tent burned down. 2. There was no propane tank explosion. 3. In an effort to continuously improve safety, CTN and several MISSION board members attended a meeting with the fire department chief and will be implementing safety recommendations, including water-pressurized fire extinguishers and spade and shovels, among others. While smoke detectors and fire extinguishes have been present at CTN, CTN will be increasing the installation of smoke detectors and presence of fire extinguishers. 4. CTN has been complimented by fire officials on its fire safety practices and history of safety. There have been no fire emergencies in the 2.5 years at this location, nor the 2 years at previous locations. There are over 100 people who come through CTN each year. 5. Fortunately, no one was injured. Neighboring campers called 911. This assistance was possible because CTN is a community. CTN's campers are in the process of helping and supporting each other, including helping the two campers who have now been made homeless a second time by fire, to put their homes and lives back together.
Unusual Suspect
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:13 p.m.
A candle is an inanimate object and cannot be an instigator. The instigator was the person who left the candle burning unattended.
MISSION Board Member
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:49 p.m.
Correction: 1. The instigator of the fire was a candle left burning unattended. This happens in brick and mortar homes, as well as tent homes. This was reported by the camper whose tent burned down.
JS
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:18 p.m.
Do you people have any idea what it's like to be in such a hopeless position that one has to sleep in the woods by the highway? Yea, didn't think so. It's very sad to me that folks who live in nice big Ann Arbor homes and sleep in warm beds at night really have nothing better to do than to tell these people that the trash-strewn area by the highway is too good for them. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Next time you want to say something about the sad situation that these people are currently LIVING in, how about you walk down that path off Wagner and ask what you can do to help? Because if you're not willing to do that, then your opinion doesn't really matter.
McGiver
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:41 a.m.
If we continue allowing these folks to "camp" on properties like this one, we will only encourage others from other areas to join in. These folks need to go. There is no valid reason for this to continue. They are breaking the law and are a public nuisance.
Unusual Suspect
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 4:11 a.m.
"Michigan Itinerant Shelter System-Interdependent Out of Necessity (MISSION)," Going through linguistic gymnastics when naming an organization so that it forms a clever acronym is really annoying.
scott
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 3:35 a.m.
Most of these people commenting about Camp Take Notice know absolutely nothing about it. Fires happen everywhere, take it easy. Camping is fun, these people just like to camp, let them live their lives already. thanks.
getyourstorystraightfirst
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:34 a.m.
who cares if these people are homeless...thank goodness no one was hurt!!
Arboriginal
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 11:37 p.m.
A2 has a fantastic support system in place for the homeless. Why does this place need to exist? Is it because you can drink and do drugs at this zero regulation free campground?
BeastofEngland
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 7:27 p.m.
Mike, although I can't speak on behalf of CTN, the time I was there they mentioned that at the prior weeks meeting they had found drug paraphernalia in one of the campers areas and he had been kicked out. I'm not sure how they enforce this, but they make the violation aware to every camper and I know that they have a working relationship with police officers in the area.
MIKE
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 3:39 p.m.
How can the camp enforce it's no alcohol/drugs policy? They can hardly throw anyone out, since the land is state owned.
BeastofEngland
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:51 p.m.
No. CTN has a strict alcohol/drug policy. They have Sunday meetings in which they deal with violations of their rules. It's actually pretty well organized and well run. I went there once and they were actually in the process of planning a WCC graduation party for someone who used to live there. It's a legitimate place.
Michigan Reader
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:12 a.m.
The Delonis Center only allows people to stay for 90 days. The guests there have to work at finding a job, and a home. There are resources there to help with those and other needs. It looks like not all guests are successful at rehabilitation.
Ron Granger
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:28 p.m.
""why", because they almost burned down the woods on public land? Isn't that reason enough?" No. "Almost" is not the same as "did". We don't take your car away because someone else almost had an accident. Corporations often have accidents on public land. They are seldom required to leave. An accident by one person should not reflect on the other individuals.
BeastofEngland
Thu, May 10, 2012 : 3:04 a.m.
Eagleman, although I would also disagree with what you say about these people choosing to live in tents in the woods (even in the winter), CTN does benefit society. They help find tutors for individuals living there and help them with transportation to job interviews (among other things) . Also, for many people CTN is transitional and they have moved on. It's just strange that people have made all these terrible assumptions of what CTN is with (in most cases) no knowledge of it beyond this article. Though there are some legitimate concerns surrounding CTN I think it's being mischaracterized. Check them out on youtube.
eagleman
Thu, May 10, 2012 : 1:27 a.m.
Corporations do have to pay fines and unlike these people, corporations offer benefits to society. These people have chosen to live like this. That's their right, but we ought to realize that these squatters do present a health hazard.
Michigan Reader
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:09 a.m.
If you don't have insurance, they will take YOU. To court. And you might get probation. If you were operating your car at the time.
cinnabar7071
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:54 p.m.
"We don't take your car away because someone else almost had an accident." If you don't have insurance they will take your car.
javajolt1
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 7:36 p.m.
I don't get it...... You need to have a permit in order to breathe in Ann Arbor or Scio township. So how is it an encampment with no sanitary services, no running water, jury-rigged electricity and tents with flammable heating is permitted to exist - unsupervised - along the highway in perpetuity? Wasn't the Delonis Center and other shelters built expressly for the purpose of preventing this very thing? What allows this to be 'OK'?
Lynn Liston
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:40 p.m.
This situation isn't really OK- but what are the alternatives? The Delonis Ctr is a shelter not a HOME. And it is always filled. We just aren't addressing the problem with all the right solutions, so this group has found their own solution and are living in a barely sustainable and barely tolerated fashion in the woods.
Michigan Reader
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:05 a.m.
This encampment is on STATE property, so unless I'm mistaken, Scio Township or the city of Ann Arbor have no jurisdiction there.
Woman in Ypsilanti
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:58 p.m.
Honestly, this situation is not OK with me either. But what is the alternative? It is clear that the Delonis Center for all of the good it does is not adequate to meet the needs of everyone in our community. And trust me, there are other encampments you don't know about as well as people living in overcrowded temporary housing like hotels. So what are we going to do about it? I like the idea of using our tax dollars to subsidize housing but am open to other humane solutions.
M
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 6:41 p.m.
I didn't know it was legal to set up a 150 sq ft tent on public land. Why am I paying for this mortgage when I can take it for free? These people are a nuisance and need to go to the shelter, which we pay for to help them out, not hide in the woods with no social backup, burning things down.
cornelius McDougenschniefferburgenstein jr. 3 esq.
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:57 a.m.
shelter has 90 day maximum stay policy.
Liz
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 9:18 p.m.
Yes, living in a tent city off of the freeway is so glamorous. Go for it.
bobslowson
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:33 p.m.
M....If you'd like to default on your mortgage, I'm sure the camp would welcome you you with open arms. "They need to go to the shelter"...you mean the one that's already at capacity most nights?
dading dont delete me bro
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 5:20 p.m.
keep the fire under control so no one gets hurt or no other property damage occurs.
jns131
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:48 p.m.
If that was California? That would have been a raging mess.
Berda Green
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 5:19 p.m.
glad nobody was hurt thank god
dading dont delete me bro
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 4:05 p.m.
did our tax dollar$ put that fire out? the homeless shelter is contributing to the tax base, correct?
Lynn Liston
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:35 p.m.
True, they don't contribute to our public services, but by living on their own in their own managed community out in the woods, they also aren't using up some tax-supported services that can go to other homeless in the area, such as the Delonis Ctr. You do raise a good point, and it's unfortunate that our social set up doesn't do a better job of addressing the needs of the poor, who might be willing to do work in exchange for being able to have a HOME.
Craig Lounsbury
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 5:11 p.m.
my point, which I may not have made well, is that the homeless encampment deserves a fire response as much as any other human beings despite their lack of verifiable property tax payments. I use the University only as an example at the other extreme who also doesn't pay taxes but gets a response.
Woman in Ypsilanti
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 4:55 p.m.
What is with this attitude that if some people are not in a position to pay taxes, they somehow don't deserve public services? Yes, our tax dollars put that fire out! That is why we have fire departments after all, to put out fires. That would be all fires and not just those that endanger the property of those well off enough to pay local taxes.
fjord
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 4:45 p.m.
Your tax dollars also would have put out a brush fire along the highway that was started by a cigarette thrown out of the vehicle of a passing motorist from who-knows-where. I don't really think you have a point here.
Macabre Sunset
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 4:27 p.m.
No, not like the University, without which Ann Arbor would be another Jackson or Benton Harbor.
Craig Lounsbury
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 4:20 p.m.
"the homeless shelter is contributing to the tax base, correct?' Kind of like the University of Michigan? The fire departments are funded by property taxes. Neither the University nor the homeless encampment pay property taxes. Granted the university throws some chump change at the city for fire protection but it doesn't remotely refelct the billions of dollars worth of buildings they expect fire departments to serve.
justcurious
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 3:46 p.m.
This is unfortunate. I had previously attempted to contact a woman who was mentioned in one of the annarbor.com articles as working with the camp. I had offered a kerosene heater for free which would have been much safer. She never responded to me.
CincoDeMayo
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 5:28 p.m.
It's really easy to go down to the camp, or have somebody go down for you, and give it to them. They are very welcoming, and appreciate help.
bunnyabbot
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 3:37 p.m.
These squatters need to leave or find someone with private property that will take them on.
jns131
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:47 p.m.
I totally agree with bunnyabbot comment. This is a really dangerous area. What if it had not rained in weeks?
Lynn Liston
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:24 p.m.
The reason why private landowners can't offer them a place to build their camp is due to the insurance and legal liability costs involved. Our laws and insurance costs make it almost impossible for anyone to be a good Samaritan these days. The Delonis Center is a place to shelter for the night, if there is room for you. It is not a HOME, which is what the squatters have created for themselves.
BeastofEngland
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:34 p.m.
I think it's important to keep in mind these people aren't a bunch of hipsters hanging out and burning down the woods, this is a bunch of people who are struggling to survive by living in tents in the woods. Camp Take Notice gives them a sense of community, has a strict drug and alcohol prohibition and is set back in the woods off of the freeway. How much more invisible can they make themselves? No one seems to realize the benefit that places like this provide until they are gone. If Camp Take Notice were to close I'm sure there would be constant complaints about all the homeless people downtown that need to find some other place to go. CTN is that other place. Maybe we should cut them a little slack.
Woman in Ypsilanti
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:51 p.m.
Where should those squatters go? If there was someone with private property willing to take them on, they would have already done so I imagine. People have to exist somewhere, why not public land if they don't have a place to go.
M
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 6:39 p.m.
Three people saying they disagree. How about to answer, "why", because they almost burned down the woods on public land? Isn't that reason enough?
jcj
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 5:54 p.m.
I see no good reason for them to leave!
Harry
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 4:04 p.m.
They are really not hurting anyone. I think we should leave them alone.
Craig Lounsbury
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 4:04 p.m.
why?