108-year-old farmhouse burns in Sumpter Township

A farmhouse built in 1913 on Haggerty Road just south of Harris Road in Sumpter Township was the scene of a fire at 6 p.m., Jan. 26.
Sumpter Fire Chief Rick Brown said the property owner had lived there for 25 years and had just retired from the post office in December. She said she was in the living room when she heard cracking and popping upstairs. Chief Brown said she told him she started upstairs to investigate and the fire met her halfway up the stairs.
He said the flames were showing through the second-story window when fire fighters arrived and the roof had already collapsed, so they couldn’t go inside. He said because of the building’s age it had “balloon construction” with open walls so all they could do is pour water on it. There is water damage on the first floor and three feet of water in the basement, he said.
The cause of the fire is undetermined because of the extensive upstairs damage. Personal items on the first floor were salvageable, he said. The insurance adjuster was due to be there Friday. Van Buren Township fire fighters were present for mutual aid, he said.