Dearborn firefighters fight an early morning fire Sunday in the 18000 block of Wall Street. No one was injured.
By TEREASA NIMS
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE — Fire investigators are sifting through the ashes to determine the cause of a blaze that destroyed a Wall Street house early Sunday morning.
A neighbor of the vacant house in the 18000 block of Wall Street called 911 at 2:19 a.m. and firefighters arrived on scene at 2:24 a.m.
“The whole house was essentially engulfed in flames,” Fire Chief Joseph Murray said.
“By the time we pulled up for it to be that intense, it was either burning for a long time or some type of accelerant was used,” Murray said.
Because of the fire department’s stations in Melvindale and Dearborn and their equipment, Murray said firefighters are generally able to keep fires from causing heavy destruction.
“We’re typically able to get to a fire anywhere in the area within four or five minutes and confine it to a room,” Murray said. “Typically we get called early enough.”
Murray said the house was empty except for a mattress.
Sixteen firefighters, assisted by six firetrucks, quickly extinguished the blaze and kept flames from spreading to other structures.
Murray said it was “straight forward” fire and extinguishing it went off “like clockwork.”
(Tereasa Nims can be reached at [email protected].)