photo by Theodore Wiesehan: Little remains after a Jan. 16 afternoon fire consumed this house at 3861 Old Mill Road.

by Theodore Wiesehan

    A Jan. 16 blaze west of Staplehurst went unnoticed for more than an hour, completely destroying a home at 3861 Old Mill Road before fire fighters even arrived on the scene.
     "It was a total loss when we arrived," Tamora Fire Chief Jon Propst said. "The entire center of the house was totally gone. The only wall left standing was the west one."
     The house, rented by Jimmy and Renee Soukup, had been burning for some time before an emergency call was dispatched at 1:40 p.m.
     The Soukups' neighbor was in his basement and unaware of the situation across the road, Propst said, and others who saw the smoke from afar assumed it was a burning brush pile until the smoke turned black.
     Fire fighting crews from Staplehurst and Utica joined Tamora fire fighters in putting out the blaze. Propst said the blaze took a half-hour to extinguish. Crews remained on the scene for four hours to clean up debris.
     Propst estimated the damage to the building - a total loss - at $80,000 and contents of the house at a minimum of $25,000.
     Though the house was deemed a total loss, fire fighters were able to save the detached garage.
     Propst said the state fire marshal inspected the site Jan. 21 and did not suspect foul play.
     Though 90 percent of the evidence burned up, officials believe the cause of the fire was in the center of the house, where damage was most concentrated. Propst named a malfunctioning furnace as the most likely culprit.