ANN ARBOR – The Ann Arbor Fire Department received calls for two house fires about an hour apart on Friday morning.
At 8:12 a.m. it received the first report of a house fire on Yorktown Drive on the city’s northside. At the time of the fire, a teenager was the lone occupant and managed to escape through a window. They were then taken to University of Michigan hospital with smoke inhalation, said Ann Arbor Fire Chief Mike Kennedy.
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“As we were en route, the first arriving crews could see a pretty significant plume of smoke,” said Kennedy. “The home fortunately had working smoke detectors. I don’t know if the smoke detectors alerted the occupant, but they were going off when we got there.”
The family’s dog also escaped the fire and neighbors offered to take care of the pet until its owners could safely return home, said Kennedy.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and is under investigation. The Ann Arbor Police Department and Emergent Health EMS assisted AAFD on the fires.
It's been a busy morning in A2! We have assisted our partners at AAFD and @emergent_health on two separate fires. In the first incident on the north side of town, the lone occupant escaped through a window. Their pet also escaped the home and the fire was quickly extinguished. pic.twitter.com/afeH3kvA3H
— Ann Arbor Police (@A2Police) March 12, 2021
A second fire was reported on the 1400 block of Harpst on the city’s southside. Upon arriving, firefighters discovered an older, wooden one-car detached garage engulfed in flames.
“It likely started with a power line issue, but that’s not 100% yet,” said Kennedy. “That’s the initial report.”
The home’s deck and siding suffered some melting during the incident. No one was harmed during the fire and an investigation to determine the cause is ongoing.
Kennedy said these events are good reminders that basic fire safety is critical in the home.
“The best thing without question is just working smoke detectors,” he said. “With ‘spring forward,’ it’s always a great time for people to put in working smoke detectors.”
He recommends moving to the ten-year lithium battery so that people don’t have to deal with 9-volt battery detectors anymore. The lithium battery detectors can be purchased at any major home store.