A Harry Paul couple arrived home on Jan. 29 to find their house engulfed in flames, after a neighbor heard an explosion, saw smoke and called 911.
Orion Township Firefighters and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene around 12:30 p.m. Orion Township Fire Chief Jeff Key said the department, assisted by Oxford, was able to put out the main fire within 15 minutes, but were on the scene until nearly 5 p.m putting out hot spots and hidden fires.
Firefighters were posed with an extra challenge, as Harry Paul has no fire hydrants.
‘As we normally do, we utilized our tanker trucks and Oxford brought their trucks,? Key said.
According to an OCSD report, deputies arrived to find the home fully engulfed in flames. A neighbor reported that she was talking on the phone when she hard an ‘explosion? next door. She told OCSD deputies that she saw smoke seconds later and called 911.
The woman said she did not believe anyone was home at the time of the fire.
The couple that lived in the home, who are planning a wedding, arrived at the scene later. Deputies said they were devastated when they learned their dog had not made it out of the fire.
The home was destroyed and the OCSD requested a fire investigator to come to the scene. Key said the cause of the fire is still being determined.