As Homeowners Move On, Fire Moves In

ADAM GELLER

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Like the house across the street gone missing and the one at the corner stripped of its front door, the weathered brown bungalow at 1430 Jane Ave. bided its time, edging nearer to a meeting with a wrecking crew.

But in a city with more than 1,000 abandoned homes slated for demolition, it would have to wait its turn. Until, at 8:15 a.m. Oct. 8, the little house jumped the line.

When firefighters arrived, the front of 1430 Jane was already swollen with flames — the latest in a long, sad string of fires destroying scores of homes this half-empty city no longer has any use for.

Except this one was different.

Like the others, the owner had thrown in the towel. It was in tax foreclosure and ready to be forgotten.

But it wasn't empty.

"Gordy!" neighbors yelled in to the flames. "Get out of there if you're in there!"