MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — One person is at the hospital following a fire at a vacant house in Muskegon Heights Tuesday afternoon.
The Muskegon Heights Fire Department (MHFD), Muskegon Professional Firefighters (MPF) and Norton Shores Professional Firefighters (NSPF) responded to reports of a house on fire with smoke.
He said when crews made it to the scene they found the abandoned house ablaze in the area of Howden and Sherman in Muskegon Heights
People were asked to avoid the area as crews worked to put out the flames.
Love said that there was one person they found on the porch of the home who was a passerby who had entered the home to make sure nobody was inside.
Love said there was nobody in the home when the fire started. The passerby was placed on oxygen when crews arrived. Love could not share that person's current condition but said he was brought to a hospital.
Firefighters had the fire put out within about 25 minutes according to Love. He said the frame of the home was still standing but it was likely "close to a total loss."
MPF shared on Facebook that while they were trying to set up they found a "bad" fire hydrant. They also requested police assistance as people were driving over the fire hose, which can cause breaks in the hose that can be incredibly dangerous due to the high water pressure.
NSPF echoed MPF's statement with a post of their own which read "We can’t continue to stress this enough, but please avoid the area and STOP DRIVING OVER FIRE HOSE!"
"It's a lot of pressure on those hose lines," said Love. "If one of them busts it can be a lot of harm to the firefighters and civilians."
Love did not have any possible causes for what may have started the fire.