The Orion Township Fire Department, assisted by two other townships, spent the better part of the weekend battling a huge fire in a commercial building on Lapeer Road.
Flames were reported at Ama International, located at 4700 S. Lapeer Road, at about 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 6.
The building served as off-site storage for Olde World Canterbury Village, located on Joslyn Road in Orion, and was the location for Grid Iron Grill, a company manufacturing sports-theme grills and helmet Christmas ornaments.
The fire completely destroyed the building, and kept the three fire station crews from Orion, along with crews from Oxford and Oakland, on the scene for more than eight hours.
Orion Township Fire Chief Jeff Key said units were on the scene until Sunday evening.
An arson investigator was requested at the scene, and that investigation is currently ongoing.
According to Key, such an investigation is proper procedure for a fire of this size.
‘I think at this point, they don’t have a good idea of what caused it,? he said.
Key also noted that it is difficult to put a timeline on these types of investigations.
Canterbury Village owner Stan Aldridge said the building contained valuable architectural antiques and other items from Canterbury.
‘It was stuff that goes back 200 or 300 years,? Aldridge said.
At this time, he was unable to put a value on the property lost.
‘It’s pretty upsetting, that’s for sure,? Aldridge said.