A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
December 29, 2016
I
NKSTER
- N
ORTHVILLE
In spite of the best efforts of two fire
departments and 23 paid-on-call firefight-
ers, a Northville home was completely
destroyedby fire last week.
The blaze, which was reportedly
caused by a space heater operating in the
garage, displaced residents and caused
major damage.
The fire spread quickly throughout the
structure, according to official reports,
and ignited a number of fireworks stored
in the garage. The brick home located in
the upscale Pheasant Hills subdivision
north of Eight Mile Road had fire damage
throughout the interior according to a
restoration company employee working at
the boarded-uphome.
There were no injuries reported as a
result of the fire according to Northville-
Plymouth Fire Department Chief Steve
Ott who discussed details of the fire at the
meeting of the Fire Advisory Board in
Plymouth last week.
“Fortunately because there were fire-
fighters at theNorthvilleFire Station their
response to the scene (with a fire
engine)…only took 7 minutes,” Ott said in
a later interviewabout the blaze.
According toOtt, the 9-1-1 call reporting
the incident at the single family residence
at 990 Elmsmere was received at 5:50 p.m.
Dec. 15. A total of 33 professional firefight-
ers and paid-on-call firefighters from the
Northville
City-Plymouth
Fire
Department and the Novi Fire
Department battled the fire in the bitterly
cold weather for four and one half hours.
The fire was determined as controlled at
about 7 a.m.
Ott reported that of the 33 first respon-
ders who answered the call, 19 paid-on-
call firefighters from the Northville Fire
Department were called into service at
the scene. He said the aerial ladder truck
stored at the Old Village Fire Station on
Spring Street in Plymouth was also
required to access the two-story home and
dispatched into service.
Novi Fire Department, one of 18 mem-
ber communities in the Western Wayne
County Fire Department Mutual Aid
Association, responded to the call with a
fire engine and four firefighters.
Novi Fire Department located in
Oakland County has an automatic recipro-
cal agreement with Northville when there
is a reported structure fire. Protocol dic-
tates Northville city fire officials first call
Northville Township Fire Department
Dispatch and request the aid of the Novi
Fire Department. Contiguously located
Northville Township Fire Department
was not asked for mutual aid according to
Ott because of the automatic aid agree-
ment already in place. Part of Novi also
borders theCity ofNorthville.
“We responded with our full structure
fire response team. We would only call
Northville Township if this had been a
two-alarmfire,”Ott said.
In this situation, the fire scene was
located closer to the Novi Fire Station
near Nine Mile and Novi Road than the
township fire station on Six Mile Road,
another the reason city fire officials did
not request aid from Northville Township
firefighters, Ott claimed.
According to Northville City Manager
Pat Sullivan, Northville would be open to
a reciprocal arrangement with Northville
Township Fire Department similar to one
with the Novi Fire Department located in
OaklandCounty.
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Fire displaces family for holidays
Stardust suspect arrested
Wayne Count Prosecutor Kym
Worthy has charged Rashad M. Bell,
28, of Ypsilanti in connection with
the homicide of his first cousin,
Joseph Franklin, 26, of Dearborn
Heights
Bell has been charged with one
count each of: First Degree Murder,
Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and
FelonyFirearm.
Michigan State Police arrested
Bell after he left the scene of the
shooting which took place in the
parking lot of the Stardust Lounge at
about 2 a.m. Dec. 17.
During a private birthday party
Bell and Franklin apparently got into
a disagreement while playing pool at
the lounge, located on Inkster Road
at Carlysle Street south of Michigan
Avenue.
When Michigan State Troopers
responded to the scene, they discov-
ered Franklin suffering from a gun-
shot wound to the lower torso. His
assailant had fled the scene on foot,
according to witnesses. Franklin was
transported by Inkster emergency
personnel to a nearby hospital where
he died fromthe injury.
Firefighters complete
advanced training class
Two Northville Township firefighters recently
graduated from the Eastern Michigan University
School of Fire Staff and Command. Firefighter
Brent Muller earned the academic excellence
award for finishing number one in the class and
Firefighter Hugh Jordan also graduated with hon-
ors.
The Northville Township Fire Department cur-
rently has 10 graduates from the program, all of
whomgraduatedwitha 4.0 grade point average.
Muller has been serving the department for 19
years as a firefighter/paramedic. In addition he is
amentor, fire investigator, and aBlueCard instruc-
tor. He has also served the last 10 years on the
Western Wayne County Hazardous Materials
Response Team as a Hazmat specialist and team
leader.
Jordan has served the Northville community as
a firefighter for 26 years. In 2009 Jordan became a
paramedic and has continued to pursue his educa-
tion.
Eastern Michigan University School of Fire
Staff and Command is designed to prepare the
professional fire officer to effectivelymanage their
fire agency. This management-oriented program
consists of 350 hours of competency-based educa-
tion spread over 10 months, according to a pre-
pared release.
Brent Muller
Hugh Jordan
Photo by Don Howard
