At about 10 p.m., March 15, the Groveland Township Fire Department responded to a mobile home fire in the 16000 block of Victoria Lane in Oak Hill Estates mobile home community near Dixie Highway and Oak Hill Road.
When township firefighters arrived, flames were coming out the windows.
‘The floor was burned through the home,? said Steve McGee, township fire chief. ‘The gas was turned off to the home, but the electric was still going. We always assume someone was in the home even though we understand it had been vacant for about six months.?
Firefighters entered the home and recovered a cardboard sign with ‘I’m Homeless? printed on it and folded within a back-pack, a small refrigerator with edible food inside and a pillow on the couch.
‘Some of the firefighters recognized the sign held by a man near Dixie and Grange Hall roads,? he said. ‘It appears a squatter may have occupied the home within the last few months.?
Township firefighters extinguished the blaze and returned to the station within about two hours, added McGee.
The Oakland County Fire Investigator was notified and responded. The fire cause remains undetermined at this time.