By David Fleet

Editor
Brandon Twp.-A smoldering bonfire near Corey Lane is the suspected cause of a blaze Tuesday afternoon that partially destroyed a home and burned several acres of woodland..
Township firefighters and Oakland County Sheriff deputies responded to the 200 block of Corey Lane at 4:26 p.m. following a neighbor’s 9-1-1 call.

Deputy Rich Hubble, a 14-year veteran from the township substation, was one of the first on scene.
“The house was engulfed in flames over the garage,” said Hubble. “We could hear a dog whining from inside the burning house. The neighbor said everyone was out of the house, but the dog was still in there. I just had to get the dog he was really scared.”

The front door was breached and township firefighter Ed Neeson entered the burning home. Through the smoke, Neeson, along with Hubble, grabbed the 1-year-old chocolate lab.
“The first thing you look for are people, then cats and dogs,” said Hubble. “The dog was upset, but soon calmed down. I just love dogs and we were going to do all we could to save him.”
Neeson continued through the smoke-filled home and found no other occupants.

Captain Erich Schudlich said due to dry brush and a lack of spring rains the fire spread to the woods surrounding the homes.“My concern was manpower— the way the fire spread to the woods,” said Schudlich. “Even though a campfire may seem to be wet and put out, do what Smoky the Bear says and stir the fire and pour more water on it. In this case they thought the fire was out, but it was not.”

Tom Kangas, Oakland County fire investigator, was at the home following the fire.
“It appears there was a bonfire on Sunday nearby that was not out completely,” said Kangas. “The wind came up and rekindled the fire, which caught dry leaves on fire that were nearby. That spread to the home and to the wooded area behind the homes. The trees and logs did not burn, rather, the dry brush and other dry material on the ground.”

Kangas recommends dousing outside fires with plenty of water and make sure they are cold to the touch.
“There’s a lot of woods that are really dry right now,” he added. “The fire on Corey Lane was an accident, but please be careful with any outside open fires, especially during this dry spring weather.”
Due to the location of the home about 800 feet of hose was needed to reach the home. Water was transported by tanker from a nearby pond to put out the fire.

Township fire departments from Atlas, Brandon, Groveland, Hadley, Independence, Oxford and Orion responded to the call.