Halloween Day fire at Bob Seger's lakefront home confined to chimney flue, investigators say

Orchard Lake — The Halloween morning fire at the lakefront home of rock 'n roller Bob Seger was confined to a chimney flue off the family room, investigators said Monday.

"The homeowners were present," said West Bloomfield Township fire inspector Dave Goff, when an alarm sounded around 6 a.m. and smoke was discovered erupting from an electrical outlet.

Firefighters had to break through some walls and ceilings in the home on Upper Straits Lake to douse the flames in the metal flue, Goff said. There was water damage in the family room and, to tweak a Seger lyric, there was also water down below, in a room devoted to a golf simulator.

“Now the task ahead of us is trying to determine, if we can, what caused the fire,” said fire marshal Byron Turnquist.

Seger, 76, and his wife, Juanita, leveled a house a decade ago to fit their current home on the original lot and one next door. 

According to Zillow.com, the 18,368-square-foot house has eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. The estimated value, according to Zillow, is $9.6 million, with annual property taxes of $120,000.

Turnquist said the home’s fire alarm and smoke detectors were key to minimizing the damage and assuring no injuries.

The conclusion of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, he said, is a useful reminder to change batteries in smoke detectors.

Beyond that, he said, “smoke alarms older than 10 years need to be replaced. At that point, they tend to be less sensitive. People think they have a smoke alarm when they really don’t.”