Firefighters from several towns battled a blaze late Monday and into early Tuesday at a former commercial garage in Detroit, successfully saving a house about 10 feet from the garage.
The garage at 443 Troy Road, owned by Jeremy and Jennifer Basford, was destroyed, and four four-wheelers, four-wheeler parts and commercial tools, including an air compressor, were also lost in the fire, according to Detroit fire Chief Don Chute.
The garage was about 40 feet by 40 feet in size and previously had been used as a four-wheeler repair shop, Chute said.
“It looks like the origin of the fire was a main electrical box on the back side of the garage,” he said.
Chute, who also is chief of the Palmyra Fire Department, said the Basfords’ son was temporarily staying in the garage and woke up late Monday to the smell of smoke.
“He heard a pop and went to the main part of the garage and noticed fire on the second floor,” he said. “He went in and notified his parents and they called 911.”
The fire was reported at 11:47 p.m. Monday and about 40 firefighters from Detroit, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Newport, Burnham and Troy responded. Most firefighters left the scene around 4:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to Chute. Corinna firefighters stood by at the Newport station, he said.
“They did a really good job,” he said. “With the shortage of manpower, it was nice to have that coordinated effort with mutual aid. They did a terrific job. It was a very good response, and we had water protection within seven minutes of the call.”
Sebasticook Valley Ambulance also responded to the scene, he said.
The Basfords’ house was about 10 feet from the garage and sustained some damage, including cracked windows and melted vinyl siding, according to Chute. Both the garage and house are insured, he said.
He estimated the garage was 15 to 20 years old.
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