Fire/Rescue

Man charged with arson

A 74-year-old Elkhart County man was charged with arson following an incident Friday evening in White Pigeon Township. According to the Michigan State Police, the man allegedly set fire to a rental unit in which he was residing, in the 71000 block of Aldrich Lake Road. There were no injuries and no other adjacent structures were damaged by fire, heat, …

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No success in recovery of Venus Stewart

Divers from the Michigan State Police recovery unit had no success in a search Thursday for locating the remains of Venus Stewart. Acting on a tip, divers spent the morning searching a stretch of the St. Joseph River in Colon Township, adjacent to her parents’ residence on Driftwood Drive. A cadaver K-9 helped pinpoint an area to search, but divers …

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Draft agreements for ambulance service

The process aimed at sustainable and more equitable funding for the Three Rivers Fire Department (TRFD) Ambulance Service continued to move forward Thursday evening (July 26) with the latest ‘Community Development Meeting’ (CDM) of officials from the City of Three Rivers and Fabius, Lockport and Park townships. City officials presented draft agreements between the city and each of the townships …

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Fire ban lifted

The City of Three Rivers has rescinded the burn ban declared on June 27. That’s the word from Fire Chief Dan Tomlinson of the Three Rivers Fire Department (TRFD) who said, “Surface weather data has finally fallen below high-risk levels.” In announcing the lifting of the ban on burning, Tomlinson noted the city’s household burning ordinance and said the fine …

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New Fire Chief and Rescue Captain

The Colon Community Fire and Rescue Department has announced a new fire chief and rescue captain. Board members of the fire-and-rescue agency said Matt Overholt will serve as chief. He succeeds Tim Doenges, who resigned after a 13-year tenure due to family reasons. Overholt was selected last week from a field of three applicants. Meanwhile, Todd Wadsworth was named the …

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Lightning causes apartment fire

A lightning strike was blamed for causing a fire at an apartment complex early Saturday evening at Westchase Apartments on Hill Street. Three Rivers fire fighters found the fire in the attic space of the east wing. One apartment unit sustained moderate damage when crews were forced to pull the ceiling down to locate the fire. Fire and smoke damage …

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Another house fire on Shimmel Rd.

A house in Sherman Township sustained heavy smoke damage as the result of a fire that occurred around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Personnel from the Centreville and Tri-Township fire departments were called to the 64000 block of Shimmel Road, where they found heavy smoke emitting from the roofline of the single-family residence. Firefighters entered the residence and found it was unoccupied. …

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Faulty wiring cause of blaze

Investigators looking into the cause of a house fire in Sherman Township last week indicated faulty wiring in an air conditioner was the likely cause of the blaze. The residence, in the 62000 block of Shimmel Road, was destroyed by the fast-moving fire. Investigators said they suspect a wiring malfunction in an air-conditioning unit attached on the first floor caused …

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Different causes for fires

A grass fire Sunday afternoon was the seventh within a week in the county. Crews from the Fabius-Park Townships Fire Department were quickly able to extinguish the weekend blaze, which covered a small area near North Fisher Lake Road. During the Fourth of July period last week, grass fires were extinguished by the department. Agency officials said fireworks were responsible …

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Crash results in injuries

One person was airlifted to Borgess Medical Center after a crash around 7 p.m. last Wednesday in Nottawa Township. St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department deputies said Centreville resident Carol Ann Walls was driving north on Nottawa Road when she failed to stop at the intersection of M-86. Walls’ vehicle struck a car headed east on M-86. Occupants of the second vehicle, Brian …

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