Three departments were called to the scene of this outbuilding that burned directly behind a home in Courtland township Thursday. Post photo by J. Reed.
Wind was a factor in a fire that burned an outbuilding to the ground in Courtland Township last Thursday.
According to Courtland Fire Chief Mickey Davis, the call came in around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, January 23, reporting a fire at 5240 Russell Road. A building behind the residence was on fire. Cedar Springs and Algoma Fire Departments were also called to the scene.
Homeowner John Wood said that he and his wife Carla heard a pop but he didn’t know what it was. He said he looked outside, but didn’t see anything. He then started to make a cup of tea, and noticed cars driving by very slowly, and wondered what they were looking at. When he looked out back again, he saw the smoke and called 911.
Chief Davis said the building was already on the ground by the time they got there. “We had the fire knocked down in about 20 minutes,” said Davis. They cleared the scene by about 6 p.m.
Davis said they think the fire started from trash the family was burning nearby. “The wind was blowing in that direction,” said Davis.
The building was actually two buildings joined by an overhang. The Woods kept various supplies there, including materials for an addition to the home, a coop for ducks they raise, beehive supplies, green goods they had canned, a refrigerator, and a freezer full of duck meat. The meat was incinerated in the fire.
The Woods are not insured. He said that they had recently switched insurance companies, and that they had made all the changes to the home that the insurance required, and were accepted. Then, after a month, the insurance company sent them a cancellation notice, because they were doing the work on the addition themselves, rather than hiring a contractor.
