By Chris Hagan
Review Staff Writer
Firefighters were awakened shortly after midnight on Thursday, May 14, for a report of a fire in an unoccupied residence.
Neighbors called 911 and reported the fire saying flames and smoke were visible from the home located in the 500 block of Oakland Ave. The first firefighters arrived minutes after to find the house engulfed in what could only be described as an inferno.
‘I made it a defensive operation from the very beginning which alerts all personnel that no one is to enter the structure because it was too dangerous,? Fire Chief Robert Smith said.
All four Orion fire stations were dispatched to the fire which consumed the 900 sq./ft., single story home. The cause of the fire is still under investigation with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department.
The house was vacant at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported as it took firefighters an hour to extinguish the flames. The department remained on scene another hour for cooling hotspots and cleanup.
There is no accurate determination on the loss value yet because investigators and the insurance company are still determining the contents of the house.
Smith estimated the house was valued at about $90,000.
The fire comes only five days after the department had a garage fire on Eagan Street in the Northwest corner of the Orion Township.
Since that fire the department has run over 60 calls bringing they’re total to 820 calls for service in 2015.