Fire/Rescue

Personnel from three area departments responded to a residential fire last week on Fishers Lake in Park Township. A house in the 55000 block of Resort Road was destroyed as a result of the late-evening fire Friday. Responding personnel said the attached garage was fully engulfed in flames and its roof caved in. The fire spread from the garage to …

A 62-year-old Mottville Township woman died after a utility tractor she was operating rolled into a pond and pinned her underwater. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Betty Hull, of the 11000 block of U.S. 12, was working around 12:30 p.m. Saturday outside her residence when the tractor somehow rolled into the pond, pinning her underwater for approximately 15 …

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says two teenagers were responsible for a fire that destroyed over 100 golf carts early Wednesday morning at Hampshire golf course in Dowagiac. The Pokagon Fire Department responded to the fire and were able to save the club house but the cart building and over 100 carts were a total loss. The course was closed …

A Sturgis man was airlifted to Borgess Hospital after the vehicle he was driving was struck by a utility trailer Tuesday in Fawn River Township. State police said James Ortmann was driving east on U.S. 12 when the trailer of a westbound vehicle driven by Sturgis resident Corey Roberts broke from the truck to which it was attached. The trailer …

A barn was destroyed by fire Monday in Sherman Township. According to the Tri-Township Fire Department, the blaze in the 62000 block of Nottawa Road was caused by sparks from welding activity around 8 p.m. Four other departments and LifeCare ambulance responded. There were no injuries reported.

Three new members of the Three Rivers Fire Department were pinned during Tuesday’s city commission meeting. Marcellus High School alum Bradley Spears received his pin from his wife, Chelsey; Kyle Rice, an Army veteran, chose to receive his pin from his father-in-law, Gary Bragg; and Three Rivers High School graduate Karl Armstrong was pinned by his father, Chris Armstrong, a …

The Constantine Fire Department has four newly certified firefighters. Three firefighters, John Hofmeister, Blake Piper and Chris Huddleston, completed the 2013 St Joseph County Fire Academy in June and were presented last week with Firefighter I and II certificates from the Michigan Firefighters Training Council. Also completing a Firefighter II course at Edwardsburg Fire Department and receiving his Firefighter II …

Authorities in rural western Michigan say an arson fire has destroyed a historic covered wooden bridge that has spanned the Flat River since the 19th century. The Ionia County sheriff’s department says the fire was reported about 5:10 a.m. Sunday on Whites Bridge It was built in 1869 in Keene Township, about 15 miles east of Grand Rapids. There’s no …

Two teenagers and a 12-year-old were injured after they were involved in a head-on collision at 11 a.m. Friday on U.S. 12 near Balk Road in Sturgis Township. According to a media release, 17-year-old Trent Harker was driving west on U.S. 12 when he attempted to pass a vehicle and was met by an eastbound car. Harker swerved off the …

The Park Township Board has approved an Industrial Facilities Tax Exemption Certificate sought by American Metal Fab for personal property in the amount of $768,175. The 12-year tax abatement for replacement equipment and new equipment will enable the company to retain its 58 employees and, hopefully, add to its workforce in the future. Action on the matter came during the …