Charity asks donations after destructive blaze

12/3/2006

FLAT ROCK, Mich. - The St. Vincent de Paul Society is seeking donations and referring clients to other thrift-store locations after a Friday afternoon fire destroyed its 15,000-square-foot facility here, just north of the Monroe County line.

Nobody was hurt in the blaze, but all items in the store were lost to fire or water damage.

The Archdiocese of Detroit issued an advisory yesterday welcoming donations to the nine remaining stores in southeast Michigan to absorb the thousands of customers and hundreds of referrals the Flat Rock store handled annually.

The store sold clothes, furnishings, housewares, and electronics.

The fire was reported about 3:45 p.m. at the store on North Telegraph Road. A damage estimate was not available, but authorities said the building was destroyed.