Tankers Put Out Huron MI Fire in Absence of Working Hydrants

Nonworking hydrants prevented an obstacle for firefighters who battled a house fire Thursday afternoon, but officials don't believe the issue had a major impact on the residence.

The Huron Township Department of Public Safety Emergency Dispatch Center received a 911 call at 2:48 p.m. regarding a structure fire in the 28000 block of Spruce Drive, which is located within the Country Meadows manufactured home community off Will Carleton Road.

The 911 caller reported that the home had smoke coming out of it through the vents and that he could see that the inside of the residence was smoky.

According to Public Safety Director Everette Robbins, the township's police and fire departments were on the scene and working the structure fire 8 minutes later, at 2:56 p.m.

No occupants were inside the residence and the fire was contained to just one house

The Huron Township Fire Department, in accordance with an auto-aid agreement that automatically requests assistance from area departments, received assistance from six area departments.

Area departments that responded to the fire came from Ash Township, Woodhaven, Flat Rock, Rockwood, Exeter Township and Gibraltar.

Robbins said Huron Valley Ambulance and Rapid Response responded to the scene to be on standby to assist throughout the afternoon and evening in the event that a firefighter from any of the communities were injured.

Asked about a tip that came from a nearby resident that water access was an issue, Robbins confirmed that water to the park was, in fact, shut off throughout the mobile home community starting at 8 a.m. that day, due to a needed repair and maintenance.

"It did cause a time delay, but firefighters were able to adapt and use other methods," Robbins said. "We do not believe the delay caused a significant impact to the ultimate damage to the residence."

The public safety director said firefighters were able to use mutual aid tankers from Exeter and Ash townships to fight the fire, in the absence of working hydrants.

He said they also were able to shuttle and draft water out of portable pools to supply water to Flat Rock's ladder truck and Huron Township's fire engine.

"Our auto-aid agreement worked just as intended and we can't thank the fire departments that responded enough for their assistance," Robbins said. "It is amazing to see multiple fire departments working together as a team to not only protect property, but to make sure everyone on the scene gets home safely."

The on-scene fire departments reported that the fire was out and cleared the scene at 6:27 p.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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