Firefighters battled one of the toughest blazes they'd faced in recent memory Monday morning after a fire broke out in an attached garage on the 400 block of Highland Road and burrowed into the hidden wall and attic spaces of a 100-year-old Ann Arbor home. The Ann Arbor Fire Department received the call at 8:21 a.m. and found flames that had already spread from the garage into the home's second-floor bedroom, according to the original reporting. Occupants and a family cat escaped safely, and crews ultimately saved the home and its contents, together valued at several million dollars.
Ann Arbor Fire Chief Mike Kennedy described the incident as one of the most physically demanding his crews had tackled in a long time, according to Firehouse Magazine. The home's high-eaved Tudor construction created isolated pockets inside the walls and attic, forcing firefighters to cut into the roof with chainsaws to reach fire that had traveled far from where it started. As CBS News Detroit reported, the fire originated in the attached garage and spread into the second floor before crews brought it under control.
A Century-Old Structure That Fought Back
The house traces back to 1926, with an addition built roughly 60 years later, and spans more than 5,200 square feet, per the original reporting. Its Tudor-style design features steeply pitched roofs, extensive concealed spaces, and metal-mesh-reinforced plaster walls — construction details that let the fire spread through multiple wall and attic voids and made access and extinguishment exceptionally labor-intensive.
The home's metal-mesh-reinforced plaster walls and concealed spaces made access to the fire labor-intensive as it spread through wall and attic voids. One firefighter was evaluated on scene for heat exhaustion, per the department.
Neighborhood Built in an Early-Century Boom
The 400 block of Highland Road sits in the Geddes and Hill area. The corridor is known for large wooded lots, deep setbacks, and Tudor and Colonial Revival homes east of Central Campus. Nearby, the 1927 James Inglis House at 2301 Highland Road — a French Chateau-style estate the city designated a historic landmark in 1988 — underscores the architectural pedigree of the block, per the Ann Arbor District Library.
Mutual Aid Poured In From Across Washtenaw County
Agencies on scene alongside Ann Arbor fire crews included Huron Valley Ambulance, the Ann Arbor Police Department, and HART Huron Valley, the original reporting states. Backup coverage came from the Saline Area Fire Authority, Superior Township Fire Department, and Dexter Area Fire Department, while Firehouse Magazine also reported direct assistance at the scene from Ann Arbor Township, Scio Township, and Pittsfield Township fire departments.
The city’s procedure for MABAS Division 3205 provides for coordination of requested deployments, according to the City of Ann Arbor. Neighboring-township crews also provided backup while city units were tied up for hours on Highland Road.
A Department Already Stretched Thin on the East Side
The timing added extra strain. Ann Arbor Fire had a crew temporarily stationed downtown in 2026 while building its newest and greenest Fire Station 4 on South Huron Parkway, a project featuring geothermal wells and meant to shorten long-term response times, with Chief Kennedy expecting the station to become operational in late September or early October 2026, according to 89.1 WEMU.
The cause and origin of the Highland Road fire remain under investigation, the original reporting states.
