The fire in the 7600 block of Evanston Avenue was believed to have been caused by a washing machine, said Egelston Township Deputy Fire Chief Dan Brentana.
The couple who lived in the home did not have insurance, Brentana said.
"Everything's gone – the belongings, everything " he said. "It's a total loss."
He declined to put a value on the loss of the home, which he described as an "old farmhouse" built in 1934 and added onto in 1964.
The woman was home with three young grandchildren around 10:45 a.m. when she noticed gray smoke and flames coming from the laundry room on the single-story home's main floor, Brentana said. She had just put a load of laundry into the washing machine, he said.
With no working phone in the home, she sent her 6-year-old grandchild to a relative's home next door to call 911 while she evacuated the two younger children, Brentana said.
By the time Egelston Township firefighters arrived, the entire rear of the wood-frame home was in flames, he said. They initially attacked the fire from inside, but withdrew when the roof started sagging, he said.
"Our guys were tired," Brentana said. "When our guys are tired we start calling for help … We had to call the world."
Helping out at the scene were firefighters from Muskegon, Fruitport, Moorland, Ravenna, Crockery, Holton and Dalton townships and the city of Norton Shores. Firefighters from Casnovia Township filled in at the Egelston station.
The last firefighters didn't clear the scene until 3 p.m.
The woman's husband, a long-haul truck driver, was in another state and is headed back home, Brentana said. The woman is staying with relatives.
The American Red Cross is assisting the couple, whom Brentana declined to identify.
Email Lynn Moore at lmoore8@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter: @LynnSMoore
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