Elderly owner injured in 2-alarm fire that guts large estate in Washtenaw County

WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A massive fire leaves a home gutted in Washtenaw County, and we're told the elderly homeowner was injured as several explosions went off inside.

"It was fully engulfed when I came up, yes. I could see the smoke like three, four miles away," said Margaret Svoboda.

Neighbors in Superior Township were stunned by a massive house fire on Frains Lake Road near Prospect, northeast of Ann Arbor. The couple in their 80s who live there, thankfully made it out alive.

"Oh yeah very shaken up. I think they’re both in shock. As we are as well," Svoboda said. "We have their dogs over at our place. We told them they can stay with us if they need to for a few days. I don’t know if they’re going to get a hotel. I’m not sure what’s going on."

Fire officials say it all happened around noon Wednesday with one of the homeowners reported to be trapped inside. But they were able to break free.

"We had 10 fire departments here. This is a rural area so there’s no fire hydrants," said Fire Chief Victor Chevrette. "So we had a large tanker operation because this house was very large.

"Very fast-moving fire. The winds were out of the northwest, probably about 5 to 10 miles an hour so that’s what fanned the fire."

Witnesses say several explosions were heard in the home. Fire officials say they are looking at the back of the house for a cause but have not pointed to anything yet.

The elderly man who lived there had to be hospitalized after inhaling smoke. Neighbors say he put his whole life into this house.

"We’ve lived here 27 years ago and when we first we moved in, half of the structure was there and you could tell it was the pride and joy," said another neighbor. "The owner definitely put a lot of love and labor into this property."