5/3/19 - Mason house fire, 622 Hall Blvd

Just after 8 AM on Friday, May 3, 2019, the Mason Fire Department was dispatched to a neighbor's report of heavy smoke coming from the chimney of a home at 622 Hall Blvd. The Delhi Township and Dansville fire departments were also dispatched on automatic aid. First arriving command confirmed there was a working structure fire inside the house. Neighbors and police on scene were reporting credible information that the residents were most likely still inside. The first crews to arrive immediately went to work making entry into the home to begin a search. Additional mutual aid was requested from the Meridian Township and Leslie fire departments to respond. Personnel found the fire was contained to the basement. Search of the first floor was clear, but neighbors reported the residents are usually in the basement. These photos could not capture the intensity of the efforts the crews made to get into the basement for rescue. Two ambulances were standing by as firefighters were driven back by the heat and flames of the deep seated fire. At one point the RIT was activated when a firefighter fell entering the basement, but the firefighter self extricated and was not seriously injured. Command was forced to make the difficult decision to withdraw crews to a defensive posture after receiving reports of structural compromise inside. Firefighers made access holes from the outside to reach and extinguish the fire in the basement. As the fire was brought under control and overhauling started, command relayed information that the residents of the home had been located out of state.