Crews battle two structure fires early Tuesday morning
Jackson County firefighters were busy Tuesday morning with a pair of structure fires occurring in the southern part of the county, Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse reported.
At about 5 a.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s officers received a report of a structure fire at 13315 134th Road, about two and a half miles northwest of Hoyt. Fire departments from Hoyt, Mayetta and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation responded to the report and arrived to find a fully-engulfed trailer, Morse said.
“The structure was occupied at the time of the fire. However, everyone was able to get out of the residence without injury,” Morse said, noting there were three people in the structure when the fire broke out.
Morse also noted that the structure, consisting of “two trailers attached with an add-on” and owned by Loren Hill, was a total loss. Firefighters cleared the scene shortly before 9 a.m.
At about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, while firefighters were still fighting the fire north of Hoyt, sheriff’s officers received a call of a second structure fire, this time at a house located at 104 Highland Ave. in Hoyt, less than half a block of Royal Valley schools. Firefighters from the same three departments, as well as Soldier Township Fire Department, responded to find the rear portion of the residence engulfed with fire.
Morse said all of the occupants of the house were able to exit the house, but one of the occupants was reported to have an injury after jumping to the ground from an upstairs window before running back into the house to warn others of the fire. That occupant of the house refused medical treatment at the scene, he added.
The house, reported to have been owned by Cara Evans, is located in close proximity to Royal Valley’s elementary and high schools, but high school principal Jim Holloman said the activity surrounding the fire did not disrupt students’ arrival or early morning activities at school. Morse later said some buses were rerouted to avoid conflict with firefighters, who cleared the scene at about 10:15 a.m.
A fire investigator from the sheriff’s office responded to both fires, as did Jackson County EMS personnel, Morse said. The cause of both fires remain under investigation, and the dollar amount of each loss remains unknown at press time.