By Don Rush
Last month The Oxford Leader reported about a fire on Ora Road. The result of the fire, we reported at the time, was that the garage was totally destroyed and “west winds caused the fire to jump to the house, which was damaged mostly by water and smoke, but is structurally sound and can be salvaged. At least one cat survived, the fire chief (Chief Pete Scholz) noted.
Last week, one of the home’s owners, Doris Malczewski visited our offices on S. Lapeer to give us an update. She said the home of her family for the past 23 years and its contents are a “complete loss.”
Doris’ husband, Steven, was the only person at the home when it burned. He was uninjured. However, all the family’s pets — three cats, five guinea pigs, one hamster, one mouse and one snake — perished, an emotional Doris reported.
“I wish one cat would have made it,” she said. “But, we lost everything. Many of the things were handed down from the family are irreplaceable. Luckily, I have some great neighbors — some I didn’t even know we had. We have been grateful for their help and support.”

Also living in the home were the Malcczewski’s 25-year-old daughter, their 37-year-old son and his wife.
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The fire happened around 10:45 p.m. on March 11. Oxford Village Police were the first to respond and reported the structure was “engulfed” with flames.
According to Oxford Fire Chief Scholz, the fire was called in at 10:39 p.m. The department got there at 10:50 and cleared the scene at 3 a.m. The fire started and totally destroyed the detached garage.