FENWICK, Mich. — Garrit DeGram looked on at his mobile home as it sat in ruins.
While at work, he took the call Friday around 8 am that his house was on fire.
“It’s tragic. I don’t like to see anybody go through it and I’ve been through it too many times in the last couple, 3 years,” DeGram said.
He said this is the fifth time he’s lost a home to fire. It’s the second time at this particular address on Boyer Road. For the past month and a half, he was in the process of remodeling his mobile home which burned down in January.
“We’ve lost everything over and over,” DeGram said.
He said he and his wife are living in an apartment attached to their garage, while working to finish their home that’s now gone.
The couple believes it’s arson, and they have an idea who’s behind it.
“We’ve had threats, several threats from some people and we threatened that they would take our house and things,” Mary DeGram, Garrit’s wife, said.
They’re depending on the Sheridan fire marshal’s investigation to push things forward.
“All I know is, I will rebuild something on this property again, one way or another,” Garrit DeGram said.
“I won’t give up,” he exclaimed.
“If anybody’s around, we could use some help. I’m just one person, I can’t do it by myself,” he sobbed.
The DeGrams said they’re in contact with the Red Cross, but they’re not sure if they’re eligible for assistance, since they had received assistance in January.
The fire marshal plans to check out the scene on Monday.
