Eight fire departments battle blaze at VBT apartments

Seven fire departments helped Van Buren Township fire fighters battle a blaze that erupted at about 9:23 p.m. May 24 in a vacant upper apartment in Building 34 of The Waverly (formerly Harbour Club apartments).
About 30 apartments were vacated and residents were unable to return for their belongings.
VBT Fire Chief David McInally said they are still investigating, but they believe the fire started after work was being done Friday in the apartment and workers left the bathroom vent fan on over the weekend to clear the air.
When they came back on Monday, May 24, they saw the fan had burned up and caused a fire that was out, Chief McInally said. They confirmed the fire was out but called the fire department around 5 p.m. to check. McInally said fire fighters pulled out a bunch of material from the area and used their thermo camera and confirmed the fire was out.
He said workers went back and checked the area to confirm, yet again, there was no fire, McInally said. Then, they checked again, he said.
“We believe this is the cause,” said McInally of the blaze, noting there could have been embers down the line that they could not see. The investigation continues.
McInally said he was on the first engine that arrived at the scene after the 7:23 p.m. dispatch and fire was blazing up through the roof of Building 34. He said the fire burned across the roof and then down the side, with water and smoke damage to apartments below and around the fire. He said the damage can be seen from Denton Road, but most damage is between the buildings.
McInally said because of the high heat and the time it took to get to all the fire spots they were there until 5 a.m. and had help from other departments. VBT and Romulus had their fire-fighting towers at work. Also present were fire fighters and equipment from Sumpter Township, Belleville, Canton, Pittsfield Township, Ypsilanti, and Ypsilanti Township.
He said the Red Cross and Belleville Fire Auxiliary were there with water and snacks. Egan’s Pub donated 10-15 pizzas and the Heart organization from Washtenaw County, that helps displaced residents, was there from about 11 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. with water and snacks.
McInally said although it was hot and many suffered from the heat, Huron Valley Ambulance crews checked out fire fighters and residents and nobody was transported.