For the second time in three weeks fire has completely destroyed a home in Addison Township.
Addison firefighters were dispatched to 3470 Hagerman Road (north of Frick Road) at approximately 12:30 a.m. Monday to battle a structure fire.
When they arrived on the scene about 8 minutes later, firefighters found a “good portion” of the 2,500-square-foot ranch home with attached garage “involved” in the fire and “flames through the roof,” according to Fire Chief George Spencer.
It took firefighters approximately two hours to get the blaze under control and an estimated total of 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish it, Spencer said.
The homeowner, Brian Rector, escaped with only “minor smoke inhalation,” the chief noted. No other civilian or fire personnel injuries were sustained.
Spencer said the home itself is a total loss, sustaining an estimated $110,000 to $120,000 in structural damage.
An estimated $60,000 to $70,000 in damage to contents, including two cars parked in the attached garage, was also caused by the fire, the chief said.
Spencer said the cause of the fire was determined to be accidental by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Fire Investigation Unit
“It looks like a faulty (electric) space heater” inside the home was the culprit, the chief said.
Fire departments from Oxford, Orion, Brandon and Oakland townships provided mutual aid, contributing both trucks and personnel to help at the scene and cover Addison Station #2 on Rochester Rd.
Spencer wished it noted there were “no working smoke detectors inside the home.”
Rector, who was asleep when the fire started, awoke to the smell of smoke, the chief said.
Spencer said Rector was “extremely lucky” he was able to wake up and escape.
“A lot of people succumb” to the smoke because of the by-products it contains such as carbon monoxide, he explained.
Spencer said not having a working smoke detector inside the home increases the danger to its occupants “exponentially.”