The house was several hundred yards from the roadway back in the woods, which created access and water supply issues for firefighters. Multiple fire departments, including Trenton, Wayne Twp., Franklin Twp., Middletown, Germantown, St. Clair Twp. and Seven Mile, were called to assist with manpower as well as tanker trucks to shuttle water.
Madison Fire Chief Kent Hall said the closest hydrant was a mile away and the driveway conditions also made access difficult.
“We recently purchased a rescue truck that has a pump capable of taking care of fires like this, but we had to get a water supply to it,” Hall said.
Firefighters did an initial attack with water from the rescue truck to try to stop the blaze.
“But that truck only held 300 gallons of water and it took us awhile to establish a supply line from engines and tankers,” Hall said.
The residents reported smoke coming from the second floor area. Hall said the cause in unknown, and because of the total loss, it is difficult to investigate.
Firefighters were called back to the scene later Saturday for a rekindle and pushed what remained of the house into the basement to make it more like a “controlled burn” to burn out.
Jodi Sorrell said her stepmother, Judy Lacey, and her step bother and his wife were home and escaped without injury. Sorrell said she was told they did see smoke coming from a closet area.
Sorrell’s late father, Joe, built the house on the hill and called it Shenandoah.
“When my dad was alive, they told him, ‘If you ever have a fire, there is not a lot we can do, because of the hill and the quarter-mile long driveway.’ But dad was stubborn,” Sorrell said. “It was a beautiful house, absolutely gorgeous.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up by Sorrell to help Lacey rebuild her life.
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