Grosse Pointe Blaze Was ‘Worst’ He’d Seen: Fire Official

GROSSE POINTE, MI — The fire that scorched three homes in Grosse Pointe was one that will be remembered. Public Safety Director Stephen Poloni, who was on the front lines battling the blaze late Monday night, said it amounted to a major loss.

“This is the largest residential fire that I’ve seen,” he said. “I can’t remember seeing three homes burn up in my career.”

The fire started in a house being renovated in the 500 block of Washington Road and fire units arriving found it “fully engulfed with flames,” Poloni said. The fire then spread to the houses to both the north and south of it.

Crews from eight communities responded to battle the fire, including the five Grosse Pointe communities and St. Clair Shores. Poloni said two of the homes were completely destroyed while the third one sustained heavy damage. No injuries were reported in the fire; the original home was unoccupied, the family to the north were all on the lawn when firefighters arrived and an elderly woman living in the house to the south was able to escape the fire, he added.

Poloni said the recent notable fires around Grosse Pointe have mainly been commercial.

“To impact three different families,” he said. “This was a big deal.”

The cause of the fire is undetermined, but officials are investigating.

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