A fire overnight destroyed most of the historic South Lyon Hotel in downtown South Lyon.
“The second floor and roof are completely destroyed," South Lyon Fire Chief Mike Kennedy said Thursday. "The first floor and exterior walls were saved.”
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office was still on the scene early Thursday handling the investigation of the fire at the establishment located at Whipple and Lafayette, which is now a bar and restaurant.
Lafayette is expected to be closed between Detroit and Lake streets until at least noon while the fire department continues to look for hot spots, department officials said..
Two employees who were at the hotel just before 2 a.m. alerted the fire department.
“There was staff on the first floor who heard a commotion on the second floor, and when they went to investigate, they found a fire on the second floor and called 9-1-1 to report the fire,” Kennedy said.
When the fire department arrived, firefighters found the exterior of the building ablaze along with venting from the roof of the structure.
“Because of the age of the building and the volume of the fire, we set up a defensive position with a ladder truck and the fire escalated to a third alarm,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy estimates that there were about 50 area firefighters with the third alarm.
In addition to South Lyon firefighters, firefighters from Lyon Township, Green Oak Township, Salem Township, Northfield Township, Novi and Wixom responded.
“They will have to get with their insurance to determine if they want to rebuild,” Kennedy said. “The second floor and roof are completely destroyed. The first floor and exterior walls were saved.”
