‘Hoarding’ worsened Ann Arbor house fire, 7 departments worked to put out blaze

ANN ARBOR, MI - An Ann Arbor house fire Saturday evening escalated to involving several Washtenaw County fire departments and resulted in burn injuries to an occupant, according to a Facebook post from the City of Ann Arbor Fire Department.

The department received multiple calls at roughly 8 p.m. about the fire, located on Main Street north of Pauline. Responding firefighters found a two-story home with ‘significant’ fire on both floors, according to the post. The department upgraded the incident to a ‘second alarm,’ bringing in Ann Arbor Township, Pittsfield Township, Scio Township, Saline Area, Superior Township, and Northfield Township fire departments and responders for assistance.

Bystanders were able to remove an occupant of the home before the fire department arrived, according to the post. They were taken to UM Hospital for burn injuries.

While the fire is under investigation, it’s not considered suspicious at this time, according to the post. The home, built in 1880, took significant fire damage to its structure and will likely require demolition. “Hoarding conditions” in the home helped fuel the fire, making it more challenging for firefighters to quell it.

The department asked anyone with video or photos of the fire to send them over Facebook or by email at fire@a2gov.org.

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