Fireworks incident leads to house fire in Chesterfield Township, investigators say
CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A Fourth of July celebration got out of hand after a house in Chesterfield Township caught on fire.
"My husband immediately ran over to the house screaming, 'There's a fire, there's a fire,' because the homeowners didn't realize there was a fire as of yet," said neighbor Andrea Butterworth. "I had a house fire 15 years ago, and I lost everything, so I wanted to make sure they were ok, and they could get what they could, and we could get them to safety. That's all I cared about."
It's something that Chesterfield Township Fire Chief Craig Miller says happens every year. Now, he's trying to get people to listen so it doesn't happen again.
"It's a disaster any time this happens to a family. I mean, they're going to be displaced for a while, the need to rebuild the house if it can be rebuilt, the loss of materials inside. We just wish it never ever happened," Miller said.
Miller said it only took 30 minutes to get the fire under control after receiving the call around 10:30 p.m., but not before it damaged part of the home next door.
The fire is still under investigation, but Miller says most of their evidence points to fireworks as the cause.
Everyone who lived in the home was able to escape safely before the fire became worse. They were also able to get their pets out.
One first responder was taken to the hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion.
