A home on fire at 216 South Broadway in Lake Orion caused major traffic backups during rush hour on Tuesday morning. A section of the road between Flint Street and Atwater was closed for four hours while Orion Township firefighters battled a fire in a vacant home.
Lake Orion Police Officer Jim Leach noticed the fire at 4:30 a.m. He said he was traveling south on South Broadway and smelled smoke. At first he was unable to pinpoint the origin of the fire until he turned around near Atwater, drove by the house and saw flames.
According to LO Police Lieutenant Harold Rossman, a person had lived in the house, but moved out several weeks ago
LO Village Manager JoAnn Tassel said the house is scheduled for demolition because of a development planned for the Pelton’s Pointe area.
South Broadway was closed because of the numerous fire hoses crossing the street from various fire hydrants.
Village police and Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies diverted southbound M-24 rush hour traffic down Indianwood while the section of road was closed.
OCSD fire investigators were on the scene by 12:30 p.m.