Fire damages house on Clark Road in Ypsilanti Township
A house on Clark Road in Ypsilanti Township suffered serious damage due to fire on Friday evening.
The home, located at 1290 E. Clark at the corner of Clark and Wendell in the Willow Woods neighborhood, is located west of Green Oaks Golf Course.
AnnArbor.com reader
Ypsilanti Township firefighters responded to the home at 5:05 p.m. after receiving the call at 5 p.m.
"We received the report of smoke in the bulding and people were evacuating," said Capt. Larry James of the township's fire department. "When we arrived we had heavy smoke and fire showing from the 2nd floor."
The fire started due to a faulty electrical connection involving copper and aluminum wires, James said.
The home was a cape cod style, with an upper level under the sloped roof that had "knee walls" on either side of the living space upstairs. That space was used for storage, and the location of the fire there made fighting it difficult, James said.
The nature of the electrical fire meant it started and was spreading inside the walls between the first and second story, James said.
"It took some time to knock it down," he said. "(The residents) had a lot of personal contents upstairs. It was quite difficult to get (to the fire)."
For about 30 minutes, James said, firefighters used an aerial truck to shoot water onto the house to "cool it down" enough to let firefighters back inside with hoses.
No injuries were reported. The American Red Cross provided assistance to 5 people after the blaze, providing lodging to all of them and food and clothing to some as requested.
Damage to nearby homes was limited to a window that was damaged by hose spray, James said.
The total damage was estimated at $150,000, reflecting both structure and contents.
Firefighters were on the scene for 3 hours, and they were assisted by the Superior Township Fire Department.
This incident follows another fire in January a block away at 1224 E. Clark where firefighters blamed a faulty fuse box.
That fire was a "mirror image" of Friday's blaze on the same street, James said.
Comments
not a billy
Mon, Jun 13, 2011 : 7:08 p.m.
$150,000 loss?? Them must have been some 'spensive contents. You can buy any house along that area for about $50,000.
jns131
Sun, Jun 12, 2011 : 1:43 p.m.
We just had our entire electrical box, inside and out replaced. Expensive but needed. They can have my electrician. What a wonderful person she was.
Angela Henry
Sat, Jun 11, 2011 : 2:19 p.m.
I wonder if they had the same electrician,lol.... That is sad for the families though, i hope they had insurance