Area fire departments were dispatched to an “explosion with smoke and flames visible” at the 1000 block of Sunset Shores Drive in Lake Leelanau Monday morning.
“We arrived with Sutton Bay Fire Department and mutual aid from everywhere,” Leland Township Fire Chief Dan Besson said.
Law enforcement arrived in snowy conditions to an unoccupied structure fully engulfed at 7:30 a.m.
Responding to the fire were crews from Leland Township, Suttons Bay- Bingham, Northport, Cedar Fire Rescue, Glen Lake and Grand Traverse Band.
A caller dialed 9-1-1 after hearing an explosion that sounded like fireworks from a neighbors garage that quickly caught fire. The fire eventually expanded to the second level of the garage.
The fire did cause the second level to collapse into the garage. Besson said the homeowners were on vacation and nobody was in the home.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown.
The fire was extinguished and under control by 9:30 a.m.
Firefighters made a quick entry at 7:30 a.m. and attacked the flames with water.
Besson said there was a lot of damage, but they were able to save a good portion of the house.
Firefighters were battling the elements for two hours.
“We are taking gear on and off ... It’s a physical job and we rotate people in and out, and that is where Elmwood came in just to be able to help crew in and out,” Besson said.
Private and seasonal roads on the peninsula provide a special challenge thanks to snow, fallen trees, and other obstacles that make it difficult for tankers and trucks to reach residences in need.
This resulted in three fire apparatus being towed out by Bingham Body and Towing.
Zac Braden of Bingham Body and Towing had pulled two fire apparatus and an ambulance out of the tight quarters that quickly became ice after spraying the flames with water.
“Big, heavy fire trucks down icy roads, they don’t mix very well,” Braden said. “We didn’t want to get stuck (ourselves) but when you hear there is an ambulance stuck you definitely want to get out there.”
