BATAVIA TOWNSHIP, MI (WTVB) – An electrical short in the attic is believed to have caused a fire Tuesday afternoon which destroyed a Batavia Township home and caused nearly $600,000 worth of damage.
Bronson Fire Chief Scott Wilber says the house fire at 335 West Barnhart Road was reported just after 4:00 p.m..
Bronson crews arrived to find a large one story ranch house with fire coming from all of the windows. Wilber says the 20 plus MPH winds were driving the fire
throughout the structure.
Coldwater, Union City, Sherwood, and Colon fire departments were called in for mutual aid.
Lifecare Ambulance, the Branch County Sheriff’s Department, and the Branch County Sheriff’s Department Victim Services Unit also responded.
Crews were on scene for five hours. No injuries were reported.
There were no injuries. Damages are estimated at $450,000 to the structure and $150,000 to the contents.
Wilber reports the siding on a nearby unattached garage was melting upon arrival but fire crews were able to prevent the building from catching fire.
The blaze was just part of yet another busy day for police and firefighters. Just a minute before the fire was reported, Lakeland firefighters along with the Branch County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to a reported personal injury traffic crash near the intersection of West Central and Block Roads.
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