At 04:48 am this morning, a fire was reported in Building C with fire visible from the rear of the building. Upon arrival at 05:03 am, the first arriving unit reported heavy fire involvement on the rear side of the building. It was also learned at this time that there were occupants in the 12-unit apartment building that were possibly trapped. During the initial moment’s personnel initiated an exterior hose stream to contain the fire until additional units arrived and immediately began to perform search and rescue as well as additional fire control operations inside the structure.
The fire was contained and under control within an hour of arrival. After thorough search of the building, all occupants as well as 3 pets were accounted for and are doing well. All residents were able to be evacuated from the building safely and quick activation of the building fire alarm by residents proved to be an important factor in early notification. There were no injuries as a result of the fire however one occupant was transported to the hospital by AMR due to a medical emergency that was not a direct result of the fire.
Loss estimates are not available at this time but the two apartments and a portion of the rear of the structure sustained significant damage. Properly maintained fire doors and complete fire separations in the attic and between apartments can be credited with reducing fire spread and additional damage. Although the fire was contained to the west side of the building all residents of the building will be displaced for some time as is damage is repaired. It is not known how long this will be.
After investigations conducted by the Holland Fire Marshal and the Michigan State Police, the fire was determined to have originated on the second-floor balcony. The cause of the fire is undetermined; smoking cannot be ruled out as a cause.
Holland firefighters were assisted by the Holland Police Department with early information about the fire and with the notification and evacuation of residents. Additional assistance on-scene was received from the Holland Twp., Hamilton, Park Twp. and Zeeland Fire Departments. The Graafschap Fire Department provided station coverage during the incident for additional calls for service throughout the community. AMR provided standby for residents and assessment of fire personnel.
As a reminder the Holland Department of Public Safety would like to remind residents that test their smoke alarms and to close your doors when sleeping. Smoke alarms provide early warning and closed doors provide barriers to fire and give us searchable spaces.