Fire/Rescue

Southwestern Michigan authorities say a 64-year-old woman died after arriving at her home, where a propane tank explosion and fire took place.  The Cass County sheriff’s department says Arlene Kern’s 36-year-old son had started a fire in a wood burning stove on Monday and propane tank exploded at the home in Porter Township. Authorities say the man got out unharmed …

A carbon-dioxide alarm early Monday afternoon resulted in the evacuation of a lunchtime crowd at the Three Rivers McDonald’s restaurant on West Michigan Avenue. The Three Rivers Fire Department arrived shortly before 1 p.m. to find the manager had evacuated customers and employees from the restaurant. Responding firefighters turned off supply valves from the restaurant’s C02 storage tank, which is …

Members of the Colon Village Council last week agreed to an increase in sewer and water rates. The 3.5 percent hike for the utility services was to go into effect this week. Village officials said the modification was necessary to offset an increase in its costs following a long-negotiated agreement with Colon Township and the Colon Fire and Rescue squad. …

Area fire departments wish to remind residents that due to the mild winter, vegetation is unusually dry for this time of year. As a result, the risk of grass fires is especially great. Fire officials in White Pigeon and Constantine stated that they believe discarded cigarettes triggered grass fires Tuesday in Constantine and property surrounding a residence on Mintdale Road. …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has put off at least until April setting the date for a public hearing on a millage renewal request in support of the county’s E-911 Central Dispatch. Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to ask E-911 Central Dispatch Director Jonathan Uribe to provide them a long-term financial picture, including the department’s potential major purchases and …

Colon firefighters were called out to a house fire Monday afternoon on Willow Drive. One home was engulfed in flames, and strong winds sent flames to a neighboring home. Both houses sustained heavy damage. Firefighters were on scene for about 4 hours. The Colon Fire Department was assisted by Burr Oak, Leonidas, and Mendon. The Centreville Fire Department was dispatched …

Fire crews from White Pigeon and Constantine responded Friday afternoon to Mottville Township, where an abandoned house was on fire. The residence, on Riverside Drive, was already partially collapsed. A cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but fire officials said embers from a nearby burning leaf pile could have triggered the blaze. The structure was completely destroyed.

The Three Rivers Fire Department is cautioning residents that it has been made aware of a phone scam taking place throughout the city. Fire department officials said the illicit callers are going by the name Firefighters Charitable Foundation. Would-be victims are asked to provide credit card information to make a donation to the fictitious charity. The Three Rivers Fire Department …

Three Rivers Fire Department firefighters pulled a man from a smoke-filled apartment over the weekend. Fire personnel responded to a report of activated smoke detectors and the smell of smoke at an apartment on Lockport Drive around 6 a.m. Sunday. After getting no response from the occupant of the apartment, firefighters forced their way into the smoke-filled residence and found …

Emergency crews responded Wednesday afternoon to a diesel fuel spill on U.S. 131 in northern St. Joseph County. Sheriff’s Department personnel said a semi tractor-trailer was heading north when its driver’s side, front tire blew out. The force of the blown tire punctured the fuel tank, investigators said. Traffic was reduced to one lane while emergency personnel tended to the …