By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp.— At 5:34 p.m., on Nov. 8, Brandon Fire Department received a report of a structure fire. Upon arrival, crews saw smoke showing from the roof area, and at that time were notified everyone including pets were out of the house and the caller was waiting outside.
Crews investigated the smoke and found the fire was in the attic.
“The attic became fully involved and the crews had a hard fight to try and extinguish that fire,” said Brandon Fire Chief David Kwapis. “I want to thank the crews that were there, the staff, they worked really hard to minimize the fire damage.”
Kwapis also extended a thank-you to the mutual aid partners.
“Oakland County Sheriff’s Office helping with traffic and blocking roads for us,” he said. “We were assisted by Oxford, Independence, Hadley, Atlas, Metamora, Orion and Groveland.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it may have been started by a chimney fire.
“We just remind people to have their chimneys cleaned,” said Kwapis. “As the heating season starts up, it’s really important to make sure at the beginning of the season that your chimneys are cleaned out and maintained, and that you’re only burning proper materials, such as dry wood.”