Fire destroys Airport Road home

Staff Report

    DEXTER — Fire crews from six area towns battled a blaze on Airport Road in Dexter Friday afternoon, but were unable to save the ranch-style home.

    Dexter Fire Chief Matt Connor said that the back portion of the building had already collapsed when firefighters arrived on the scene. “We had six tankers there and never stopped moving water,” Connor said. “But the way the wind was blowing and the cold, it was just a bad combination.”
    The homeowner, Dale Hall, and a friend were shoveling the snow off the roof of a nearby cattle barn when the fire was reported around 11:30 a.m. Connor said that an unattended space heating in the ranch-style home is suspected to be the cause.
    Firefighters from Corinna, Newport, Garland, Sangerville and Dover-Foxcroft responded while the Detroit and St. Albans departments were on standby coverage. The scene was cleared around 4 p.m., according to the chief.
    Conner said the home was believed to be uninsured but that Hall’s cattle were in a back field and were unharmed.
    Connor said that Dexter firefighters had an unusually busy weekend. They also sent a tanker to the fire in Elliottsville Plantation Saturday night that claimed the lives of an elderly couple.