Augusta FD puts out auto yard fire with help of five departments

Augusta Township Fire Chief 3 David Music said there were five other departments that helped to fight the Aug. 10 fire in Willis.
He said Augusta was dispatched at 2:47 p.m. and he arrived six minutes later from his home. He called for mutual aid before arriving at the scene because of the huge fire cloud and fire load at the site.
Augusta’s first engine arrived 13 minutes after dispatch to Monarch Automotive, 10339 Willis Rd., across from Bonehead’s restaurant.
Chief Music said the building was fully involved on their arrival with a power line down in the parking lot in front of the building. He said a worker from the building on fire had tried to move the energized power line away from the building and, unfortunately, dropped it in the eastbound lane of Willis Road where Van Buren Township’s tower truck was going to set up.
The building’s natural gas meter had melted and was leaking natural gas on the southeast corner of the site. DTE was requested for emergency gas and power shut off by a command officer. Chief Music had the trains stopped and the VBT tower truck set up at the tracks.
Huron Valley Ambulance was called for a worker that had 1st degree burns on his hands. Augusta FD had two firefighters transported to the hospital for evaluation and they were released later that night.
“I would like to thank all of our brothers and sisters from Van Buren FD, Milan FD, Ypsilanti FD, Sumpter FD, and Saline FD for the assistance on the fire,” Chief Music said.
“A Saline crew also covered Augusta FD’s area while they fought the fire responding to two calls. Special thanks to Hart, which responded with drinks and food for the crews.”
Origin of the fire was a gas vehicle on a hoist, on which a fuel transfer was being done, Chief Music said.
“It is undetermined how the fuel ignited,” he said. “After it was all over, I gave a quick prayer and thank you that everyone went home safe to their loved ones.”