Brandon Twp.- Brandon Schudlich was awakened shortly after 6 a.m. July 4 by the barking of his dog. He heard some popping and figured it was fireworks.
Just two minutes later, the paid on-call Brandon firefighter’s pager went off. The fire, it turned out, was directly across the street from his home.
‘I got up and got my gear on and waited for the (fire) truck to get here,? says Schudlich. ‘It was the worst mobile home fire I’ve ever seen.?
When the Brandon Fire Department arrived at the home in the 3800 block of Apple Street in the Sashabaw Meadows Mobile Home Park, three occupants of the home were sitting about 100 yards from the home. The 40-year-old woman and her two children? an 8-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl? were transported to Crittenton Hospital in Rochester Hills with non-life threatening injuries that included minor burns and light smoke inhalation.
‘The family was very fortunate to get out of that fire with the minimal injuries they had,? said Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Arson Investigator Art Schrah. ‘The firefighters did an excellent job in fire suppression. There is a lack of drywall in early 70s mobile homes. The home was gutted, they lost virtually everything.?
Schrah estimates the damage was at least $70,000. He was unable to confirm if the home was insured, but said the contents were not.
Neighbor Marcia Saul gazed across the street at the burned shell of the mobile home two days after the fire. Twisted metal, melted shutters, boarded up windows and a charred chair remain.
Saul woke up July 4 to see firefighters working to extinguish the fire.
‘The whole trailer was in flames,? she says. ‘I’m surprised the trees didn’t catch fire. It was so depressing to wake up and see that. I feel sorry for her, they lost everything.?
Schrah said he believes the family may be in contact with the Red Cross and Salvation Army.