OCP photo
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
GOLDEN TOWNSHIP — The cause of a house fire at 613 N. June Dr. in the Silver Lake community Monday morning, June 9, has not yet been determined, said Hart Fire Chief Dwight Fuehring.
“They were out at the scene investigating this morning,” said Chief Fuehring Tuesday.
The two-story home with a basement is a total loss.
Fire departments from Hart, Shelby-Benona, Pentwater, Ferry Township, Grant Township and Mason County’s Riverton Township responded to the scene. “We used about 70,000 gallons of water,” said the chief.
Access to the scene was challenging due to the home’s location on a steep hill and its close proximity to other houses. Fuehring said downed power lines across the road added to the challenges. “All the trucks had to divert and go around the block to come in. That made our initial attack a little bit harder, but that got remedied when they took the lines out of there.”
Firefighters battled the blaze for about five hours until 3 p.m., and then crews were called back later in the day when the house rekindled.
The fire started in the attached garage and then quickly spread to the home. “With the wind, it took it right into the house.”
Phil Gooch owned the home, which was insured, said Fuehring. Six people were in the home at the time of the blaze, and all of them escaped unharmed. Three pet cats died in the fire. The American Red Cross was called to assist the displaced family.
Despite the close proximity of the other homes, firefighters were able to save the neighbors’ houses from catching fire. Siding melted on a home to the south. The south wind blew the extreme heat from the fire toward the other home. A travel trailer in the yard was also slightly melted, said the chief.
“Everyone did a great job, and we all worked together — we moved a lot of water,” he said of the fire crews. “The new well in Silver Lake worked great.”
A Silver Lake business generously fed the firefighters on scene. “The Chicken Shack brought out a couple pans of chicken for us,” said the chief.
______________________
Please Support Local News
Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news.
Payment can be made monthly via credit card, bank account, PayPal or Venmo through recurring email invoicing. These payments can be set up for autopay each month.
To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.
Alternative methods:
- We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).
Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.
We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.
_____
This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2025, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.
.png)