BRONSON, MI (WTVB) – There have been two structure fires in Branch County, the most recent early today in Batavia Township where a single wide modular home burned to the ground. Bronson firemen found the home along U.S. 12 near Log Road engulfed in flames when they reached the scene. A passerby called 9-1-1 to report the blaze around 3:20 am. and they figured out in short order that apparently no one was currently living there. By 3:40 am, the fire was declared under control.
About 18 hours earlier a hay barn in Algansee Township on East Central Road near Ferguson Road at the Preston Farms went up in flames. The building was engulfed in fire when the first firefighters arrived from Quincy after the alarm was toned out at 9:38 a.m. yesterday.
A Preston family member told us they believed that spontaneous combustion from the rolled hay may have sparked the blaze. They also reported it was very fortunate that the winds were blowing out of the east since the gutted structure was located just to the east of a large barn for the farm’s milking operations and it was spared. The fire wasn’t declared out until 1:40 pm Tuesday afternoon. No animals were hurt in the fire and no injuries were reported otherwise.
The Coldwater, Allen, and Fremont Fire Departments provided mutual aid for Quincy. Firemen were on the job for six hours.
