Since 1854 — News from Montcalm County and Ionia County, Michigan

By Cory Smith | on March 03, 2022

Firefighters successfully knocked down a fire at 903 E. Eureka St. Wednesday morning in Greenville, saving the home as the fire was contained to an attached garage and breezeway. — DN Photo | Cory Smith

GREENVILLE — A house remains standing today thanks to some quick thinking from firefighters who knocked down a blaze within minutes of arriving at a structure fire Wednesday morning. 

At approximately 1:22 a.m., the Greenville Department of Public Safety was dispatched to a 911 call of a structure fire on the backside of the residence at 903 E. Eureka St. 

Upon arriving at the scene, GDPS Sgt. Darren Jones said flames were showing on the south side of the residence. With both residents of the home safely out of the house, Jones said he was able to place a focus on getting water on the fire as soon as possible. 

“I pulled a line off the engine as soon as I got here,” he said. “On the back side of the house, it was kind of burning in the eves, so I hit it up through there, got a pretty good hit on it, and when I came around to the side, I could see flames in the back corner (of the garage) at about knee level.” 

As the fire had burned through the south wall of the garage, Jones said he was able to extinguish the interior blaze from outside of the home. 

“I was actually able to put it out from the outside,” he said. “My intent was to try and keep it going from the roofline of the garage, through the breezeway, and into the house.” 

Greenville Department of Public Safety firefighter Kyle May sprays a mixture of water and foam into the eves of the residence at 903 E. Eureka St. Wednesday morning in Greenville as firefighters successfully contained a structure fire to an attached garage and breezeway, saving the home. — DN Photo | Cory Smith

According to GDPS Staff Sgt. and Fire Lt. Brian Blomstrom, the techniques demonstrated by Jones and other officers and firefighters at the scene were key to extinguishing the blaze within minutes and preventing the fire from spreading from the garage to the attached home. 

“Previous training played a large role in mitigating this fire situation and saving the structure,” he said. “During COVID, departmental members couldn’t meet as a large group for training, so the agency focused on different fire suppression techniques and research through personal, online courses offered by Underwriters Laboratories. One of the courses involved suppressing attic fires with fire attack via overhangs and soffit areas. Sgt. Jones deployed this technique with the on-scene crews, which knocked the fire down dramatically, allowing firefighters to gain easier access to the fire from inside the garage and breezeway area with greater success.”

Blomstrom also credited new equipment in aiding firefighters with their efforts to extinguish the blaze. 

“New equipment purchased in the last year by the city also played a significant role in the incident,” he said. “The use of the new fire engine with an internal foam system and newer hand-held nozzles, which allow firefighters to switch from a straight stream to a fog stream on demand, also made a positive difference. Having great equipment, combined with proper training techniques, definitely came into play on this fire. By using knowledge gained by training and understanding of different suppression methods, this family still has a place to call home. Yes, there will need to be some repairs to the structure, but everyone made it out safe and the damage is minimal.”

In investigating the fire, Blomstrom said he and GDPS Officer and Fire investigator Jamie Sorsen have determined the cause of the fire to be accidental in nature. 

“The fire was found to have started in the rear corner in the garage due to resistance heating involving electrical wiring,” he said. “The fire has been ruled accidental in nature.”

No one was injured at the scene. 

Firefighters work together as they evaluate the scene of a house fire at 903 E. Eureka St. Wednesday morning in Greenville. The fire was successfully contained to an attached garage and breezeway. — DN Photo | Cory Smith

At the time of the fire, husband and wife George and Kathleen Aprill were asleep until an early-morning text message woke George and he then smelled smoke from the fire. 

“My husband woke me up and said, ‘Kat, Kat, the back of our house is on fire,’” Kathleen said. “I just hope my kitties are OK.”

Kathleen said her house was home to four cats who she hoped were able to hide in the basement of the house, away from the fire. 

According to Kathleen, she and her husband have lived in their residence, which is insured, for four years. 

Montcalm County EMS and Montcalm County Central Dispatch assisted at the scene. 

Nearby semi trailer fire ‘not connected’

As firefighters were winding down their efforts and checking on any remaining hot spots at the house fire, a report of a vehicle fire was dispatched at 3:02 a.m. — just four blocks away. 

Firefighters quickly transitioned from fighting a house fire to battling flames that had fully-engulfed a semi trailer parked on a vacant lot on the corner of E. Eureka and Elm streets, immediately south of Russell Plumbing & Heating. 

“Basically it was a trailer full of household goods — couches, furniture — that somebody had moved and their stuff was in there,” Blomstrom said.

Blomstrom said the fire remains under investigation. 

“There’s no reason for something like that to catch fire,” he said. 

Despite the two fires occurring on the same city street and within two hours of each other, Blomstrom said they are unrelated. 

“Absolutely they are not connected,” he said. “These are two separate fire situations with two different investigations. The fires are not connected in any way and will be investigated separately.

No injuries were reported at the scene. 

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