Michigan Couple Hosts Block Party As Home Burns
GRAND HAVEN TWP. (AP) - A southwest Michigan couple hosted a block party with an unusual backdrop -- flames soaring above their home as it burned to the ground.
Dave and Nancy Palmer had long planned to build a new home on their property, so they decided to burn their current house and throw a party at the same time.
"I said, 'I'll write a song and we might as well utilize this fire,' so I wrote this song called `Burn Baby Burn,''' Dave Palmer told the Grand Haven Tribune.
He and his band played the tune repeatedly during Saturday's party, which featured kids dressed as firefighters.
The Palmers say they also invited members of the local fire department so they could use the blaze as a training exercise. Firefighters set some fires inside the home and put them out to get training in a burning or smoke-filled building, Grand Haven Township Fire Chief Tom Gerencer said. Later, as the house became fully engulfed in flames, they focused on keeping the neighbors' homes from catching on fire.
The Palmers say they plan to begin building their new house later this year at the same site.
"We love it here,'' Dave Palmer said.
He is the president of a nonprofit group, Spread the Music Foundation, which provides instruments to youth in the area and encourages them to get involved with music. He says he's planning to include "Burn, Baby Burn'' on an upcoming CD he hopes to sell to raise funds for the organization.
He said he's hoping to get the CD done soon, "but I've got to build a house.''
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Information from: Grand Haven Tribune, http://www.grandhaventribune.com
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
