The Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office said that one person is dead after a house fire in in Mecosta Township on Old State Road.
The sheriff’s office said that on Monday, around 3:15 p.m., Meceola Central Dispatch received multiple calls about heavy smoke and then a report of a house on fire and that a person was possibly trapped inside.
When fire fighters arrived, they heard explosions and the roof was already beginning to collapse. They were able to quickly start putting out the fire while also searching the area for the missing homeowner. When fire fighters found the owner, he was dead.
The sheriff’s office said that the investigation at the scene revealed that the man who died, and 80-year-old from Stanwood, was welding in his workshop when a fire broke out. He had mobility issues and was not able to escape. The fire was not suspicious and is determined to be accidental.
The Mecosta Township Fire Department, Big Rapids City Fire, Big Rapids Township Fire and Morley Area Fire Department worked together to put out the fire while the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office Fire Investigation Team helped with the investigation.
