In March of 1953 the first working fire was reported to the department. This fire was an embarrassment, as the department did not get an early call. The fire was in a dwelling on Clark road and when firemen arrived flames were coming out of the windows. They quickly ran out of water and help was slow to arrive, because of the primitive communications in those days. The City of Ypsilanti sent a truck, which also ran out of water. By the time the trucks refilled and returned the house had burned to the ground.
In 1958 Chief Marken gave the following fire report. $200,000 worth of property was saved by the S.T.F.D. with a loss of only $13.860. Sixty fire runs were reported with only six major fires: Dixboro school -$400 damage, Humane Society - $200 damage, Frains Lake dwelling fire - $1,000 damage, Warren Road Boy Scout cabin $6,000 loss. (This building was a total loss as there was no road within a half mile of the building.), Prop restaurant - $1,400 damage, Whittaker and Gooding garage- $100 damage.
The first fire death reported in Superior Township took place in an apartment dwelling on Stamford at MacArthur. A woman was using gasoline to clean motorcycle parts for her husband in the basement. The gas water heater pilot ignited fumes. When fire fighters arrived the women’s children were upstairs and did not know about the fire. Rescue of the children was successful and the fire was quickly extinguished, but the woman suffered 3rd degree burns over her entire body.
In April of 1975 a working fire in an apartment building on MacArthur Blvd. was reported to the department in the middle of the night. Upon arrival, the roof was totally involved in flames. Mutual Aid was requested from Ypsilanti Township for their ladder truck. No injuries were reported from the fire, although there was extensive damage to the entire building. Later on this same date the department fought a major fire on Ford Road. A soldering iron had been left plugged in on a workbench in the basement of an old farmhouse. The fire burned through the first floor into a bedroom where it was stopped.
On July 14, 1977 at 4:00 a.m. the department responded to a request for mutual aid from the City of Ypsilanti to a fire in the 90-year-old three story Greystone Hotel. This building was a total loss. Mutual aid was also sent from the Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Augusta, and Pittsfield Township Fire Departments.
On March 7, 1980 a large barn located on the Sugarbush Farm at Ford and Gotfredson Roads burned causing a spectacular fire. This was a petting farm and the barn was used for all sorts of activities. A faulty furnace caused the fire. Mutual aid was requested from Canton Twp., Salem Twp., Pittsfield, Twp., and the Ypsilanti Twp. fire departments.
On November 27, 1984 the department responded to a working fire in the three story Ridgewood Hospital. This vacant 54-year-old building was a total loss. Mutual aid was received from the following departments: Ann Arbor Twp., Canton Twp., Dexter, Northville Twp., Salem Twp., Pittsfield Twp. and Ypsilanti Twp. This fire was fought with a tanker shuttle system as the water to the hospital was shut off, and the nearest hydrant was about 1/2 mile away. Ypsilanti Twp. provided their aerial device to supplement the one from Superior Twp. The cause of this fire was suspicious.
On March 16, 1987 at 6:30 p.m. the department responded on mutual aid to Ypsilanti Township at the Washtenaw Country Club at 2955 Packard Road. Superior Township Fire Dept. was at the location for four hours. Damage to the clubhouse (built in 1899) was $500,000. Ypsilanti City, Pittsfield Twp, Ann Arbor Twp., Ann Arbor City, and Augusta Twp. fire departments also assisted with mutual aid.
In October of 1990 the department responded to a mutual aid request in Ann Arbor Twp. for a fire in a roofing supply warehouse. The fire, fed by very flammable roofing materials stored in a huge wooden building caused several million dollars damage. Most fire departments in the county were involved to some degree in the two-day fire and overhaul.
On January 20, 1991 an apartment fire was reported on MacArthur Blvd. at 10:18 p.m. Upon arrival fire fighters found the apartment fully involved in flames, two family members critically injured, and two more trapped. One of those trapped was rescued. All four eventually died from smoke inhalation and/or injuries received from fire exposure. The cause of the fire was traced to a set of Christmas tree lights that were carelessly left behind a couch in the living room.
In August 1993 spontaneous combustion of stored hay caused a major fire in a feed lot building on the Gill Farm on Ridge road. The loss to the building, contents, and animals was place at $80,000. However, quick control of the fire averted a disaster at the farm that was milking over 400 head of cattle. Numerous fire departments were called to help supply water. Efforts were hampered by ongoing construction of a 60” water line down the middle of Ridge road.
On August 15, 1995 a late afternoon alarm was received at the Barrett Paving Company at 5800 Cherry Hill road. The temperature was in the high 90’s and severe weather was forecast. Upon arrival a column of thick black smoke was rising from the rear of a large maintenance and storage building that contained tires, petroleum products, acetylene, and various other combustibles. In spite of a quick attack by fire fighters, within a very few minutes, the fire spread throughout the entire building and it was totally destroyed. Mutual aid was received from Ann Arbor Twp., Salem Twp., Canton Twp., and Pittsfield Twp. fire departments.
On May 18. 1996 the department responded to a mutual aid call in Salem Township. A large Edison transformer, which was located at a substation near the corner of Joy and Tower Roads, exploded and burned.. The transformer contained several thousand gallons of oil used for cooling purposes. The burning oil caused a tremendous fire ball and the smoke could be seen for many miles. Foam quickly smothered the flames, but it took a while to get sufficient foam and tankers on the scene. Salem received mutual aid from Ann Arbor Twp., Lyon Twp., Northville Twp., Northfield Twp., Scio Twp., South Lyon, and Superior Twp. fire departments.
On May 29, 1996 the department received an alarm at the Plymouth Nursery. It was a hot, windy, and very dry spring day. Upon arrival fire fighters found a large pile of wood chips, which were stored beside a large metal pole barn, burning. Flames were quickly extinguished, but before overhaul of deep-seated burning in the pile could be accomplished the fire spread to highly flammable insulation on the inside of the pole barn. The barn and two attached greenhouses were destroyed before the fire could be contained. Mutual aid was received from Ann Arbor Twp., Canton Twp., Pittsfield Twp., Plymouth Twp., Salem Twp., and Ypsilanti Twp.
On December 21, 1998 the department provided mutual aid in the City of Ypsilanti, where there was a fire in the roof of the old Ypsilanti High School. The building, which covers nearly two city blocks, was being remodeled into senior citizen apartments. Fire fighters were able to contain the fire after it burned the roof off of approximately ¾ of a block of the three-story building. Aerial ladders from the City of Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor Twp., Pittsfield Twp., Superior Twp., and the City of Ypsilanti were used at this fire scene, which was a first in the county. Damage was estimated at $300,000.
On August 18, 2002 the department responded to a structure fire on Timberwood Court at 11:54 p.m... Upon arrival we found a well involved fire in a 4000 square foot new home that was soon to be occupied. The two story attached garage was all ready destroyed and the fire was burning up into the attic of the house as fire fighters pulled up to the scene. The fire was stopped after it had burned the roof off the $600,000 home, and the loss was set at $400,000. A definite cause could not be determined, but remains suspicious. Mutual aid was received from Ann Twp., Salem Twp., Northfield Twp., Ypsilanti Twp., and the Canton fire departments.
On September 9, 2002 the department responded to a structure fire on Old Oak Drive at 2:06 a.m., where a 4,000 square foot home under construction was totally involved in flames. The neighbors reported hearing an explosion and immediately observed the entire house in flames. The home had been roughed in and was just shingled, and was completely consumed by the fire. The loss was set $150,000. The cause was determined to be arson. Mutual aid was received from Ann Arbor Twp, Canton, and Salem Twp. fire departments.
On November 15, 2002 the department responded to a structure fire at 8387 Ford Road at 9:14 p.m... Upon arrival we found 30'x50' Carriage House well involved in flames. The building was adjacent to a multimillion dollar home under construction, which is located at the end of a drive approximately 1/3 of a mile off the road. Because of the narrow drive we had to set up a water supply at the road, and laid 1,800 feet of 4" hose to the fire scene. The building was a total loss and there was minor radiant heat damage to the house. The dollar loss was placed at $850,000. The cause of the fire was accidental. Mutual aid was received from Ann Arbor Twp., Canton, Northfield Twp., Salem Twp., Pittsfield Twp., and the Ypsilanti City fire departments.On March 21, 2003 the department responded to a reported structure fire in Mystic Forest off Plymouth Road at 3:01 a.m. Upon arrival we found two homes, which were under construction, that were fully involved. One was a 5000 square foot structure located at 3633 Brittanie and the second was a 4000 square foot structure located at 3755 Birch Run Drive. Both homes were roughed in and shingled, and both were completely consumed by the fire. The dollar loss on each was set at $125,000. A neighbor reported hearing an explosion and observed one house burning next door, and the other burning about a block away. It was a very foggy night. This is a new subdivision under construction, which had one occupied home, another nearly completed, and the two that had been just roughed in and shingled. While checking the unoccupied home we found a sign scrawled on the garage door that said "E.L.F. - No sprawl." E.L.F. is the initials of the Earth Liberation Front, a conservation terrorist group. The State fire Marshal was called, and he in turn involved the FBI and the ATF. Both fires were arson. Mutual aid was received from Ann Arbor Twp.
