BARRY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A Delton car dealership was destroyed in a fire Monday morning.
According to dispatch, crews with the Delton Fire Department were sent to Smith & Doster at 114 N Grove St. north of Orchard Street around 7:30 a.m. for a fire. No one was inside.
A police officer at the scene told News 8 that the building was a total loss. It’s unclear what caused the fire.
Residents said the front of the building, which was destroyed, used to be the showroom that featured classic cars and a Model T.
M-43/Grove Street is closed between Delton Road and Orchard Street.
The dealership is just down the street from Delton Kellogg Elementary and not far from the middle and high schools. Delton Kellogg Schools Superintendent Jeremy Wright said he noticed the fire after arriving at work nearby and spotting people taking photos.
“I walked around the corner to the school and I saw a bunch of black smoke coming, and I looked and the building across the street was on fire,” Wright said. “All of a sudden, I had about four staff members come up and say, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s really bad.’”
Students were at school already, Wright said.
“We heard some loud explosions. Then at that point, we decided that we need to do something to move the kids,” he continued.
He said the explosions alarmed some of the kids, but he praised his teachers for keeping the children calm and facilitating an orderly move.
“We moved all of the elementary kids to the middle school gym, kind of organized them that way and then came up with a game plan on what we were doing for the rest of the day,” Wright said.
All Delton Kellogg schools — which serve more than 1,100 students — were closed due to the fire and smoky smell, particularly in the elementary school. Students were taken home on buses. An adult was on each bus to make sure that someone was at home to receive the children. Wright said only one student wasn’t dropped off and the school was working with family.
Wright expected school to be back in session Tuesday. Therapy dogs will be in schools to support students who may have been upset by the fire.
“(The dealership is) the central part of the city, basically,” Wright said. “Anytime you have a full loss like that, it’s hard on the community and hard on people.”
The Delton District Library posted on Facebook that it is also closed on Monday due to the fire.
—News 8’s Elena Cousino contributed to this report.
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