The structure at 749 E. South St. contained much antique fire equipment, called priceless by township fire captains.

 

“Lost a lot of fire history in this building,” said Capt. Brian Ledford.

 

Ledford said the building is destroyed, but some of the contents can be salvaged. He estimated the structure was worth $150,000 to $200,000, but would not venture to estimate the value of the contents.

 

“Thousands and thousands of dollars,” said Ken Soderbeck, who owns Hand in Hand Restoration, and is one of only a few people in the country who do such work.

 

The cause of the fire is undetermined, said Michigan State Police Trooper John Richards, who is trained in fire investigation.

 

It is not considered suspicious, Richards said. There were no signs of suspicious activity or forced entry.

 

He said the state police do not have the equipment to dig through the rubble, which would be necessary to determine the cause. If Soderbeck had insurance, the company may pay for it, but Soderbeck said he did not have insurance.

 

“It’s my worst nightmare,” Soderbeck said of the fire.

 

Both he and emergency personnel were notified of the fire by an alarm system.

 

A Jackson County sheriff’s deputy first arrived about 2 a.m.

 

He and firefighters found much smoke.

 

Firefighters tried to enter the building from the back, but a ceiling collapsed and they had to fight flames from outside, Ledford said.

 

Richards said the fire started in the area of a wall between Soderbeck’s upholstery room, where he had some industrial sewing machines, and a dark room, used for developing photographs.

Firefighters work at the scene of a fire at Hand in Hand Restoration on E. South Street in Summit Township on Wednesday morning. - Picture by J. Scott Park, Jackson Citizen Patriot