A wild and wicked house fire

Photo by Walter Wasacz

By Charles Sercombe
A combination of high winds and combustible material led to a fierce house fire Tuesday afternoon at Trowbridge and Gallagher.
As of Thursday, the day The Review went to press, there were few details about the incident. It was also not known how many people were living in the two-family structure.
It is thought people were living in the attic, which if true is a code violation.
There were no injuries, despite the fast moving flames and intense heat.
Fire Chief Dan Hagen said early speculation is focusing on a space heater sparking the fire in the second or third floor. Tuesday was the first chilly day in what has been an unseasonably warm fall, prompting many to turn on their furnaces and spaces heaters.

By the time firefighters arrived at 4:30 p.m., the upper floors of the house were already engulfed. Hamtramck firefighters were assisted, by a prior mutual aid agreement, by Detroit and Highland Park crews.
Firefighters made several attempts to put out the fire from the inside, but each time the heat “knocked them back,” Hagen said.
The high wind, with gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, whipped the flames in the attic, which quickly destroyed the roof, and caused the second floor balcony to come crashing down – missing some firefighters by a mere few feet.
Amazingly, firefighters were able to contain the fire and not allow it to spread to nearby houses.
A crowd of about 100 people gathered to watch firefighters in action. A question overheard from a few bystanders was: Why didn’t Hamtramck aerial ladder get put into use?
Hagen said the aerial is usually put into use “as a last resort.”

The reason is, when that truck is spreading water on the outside, it causes the inside of the structure to heat up and puts firefighters in harm.
The ideal way to fight a fire, Hagen said, is an “interior attack” – meaning firefighters go inside a house and brave the flames and smoke.
Considering today’s real estate market, a two-family house is worth about $90,000 or more. This house was totally destroyed.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise donations for the families affected by the fire. To donate to the cause visit https://www.gofundme.com/gjxnp-hamtramck-house-fire.

Published October 27, 2017