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Blaze takes hour to extinguish

March 19, 2002
A stack of photo albulms firefighters salvaged from the house after the fire was put out sits on the back of a fire engine.

An early morning fire Monday caused nearly $500,000 damage to an East Lansing home.

East Lansing firefighters responded to a call at 3:51 a.m. to 929 Wildwood Drive, in the western section of the city north of Grand River Avenue, where the rear of the house was engulfed in fire, East Lansing Fire Marshal Bob Pratt said.

It took all 13 of the East Lansing firefighters on duty, with assistance from Lansing and Meridian Township fire and rescue crews, more than an hour and a half to extinguish. The home was heavily damaged by fire, smoke and water.

A firefighter received burns on her back from falling embers, but was treated and released at the scene.

A young man was the only person home at the time of the blaze and was awaken by a fire detector. He and a family dog escaped unhurt, but a family cat died in the fire.

“If he didn’t have a working smoke detector, chances are he wouldn’t have made it out of the house,” Pratt said. “The house was really pretty badly gone.”

The fire is under investigation and officials say foul play is unlikely.

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