Retirement village fire in Elmore damages 1 apartment

7/24/2005

ELMORE - A fire last night at the Elmore Retirement Village on East State Street damaged one apartment but caused no injuries, authorities said.

The fire began about 9:15 p.m. in a unoccupied apartment and caused extensive damage to the living room, said Rodger Jimison, manager of the complex.

The Harris-Elmore Fire Department responded after 911 callers reported flames visible from one of the apartments. They controlled the blaze within a half-hour and prevented its spread to other apartments, a dispatcher with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said.

Mr. Jimison said the couple who live in the apartment stayed with family members last night.

"The fire department worked wonderfully," Mr. Jimison said.

The fire's cause is under investigation. A damage estimate was not available last night.

Dedicated in 1980, the retirement village is made up of 15 one-story brick buildings, each with four units.

The village, which provides independent elderly housing, is on a five-acre site on East State Street alongside Elmore's Well Park.

Seven churches in Elmore and several congregations in neighboring villages developed the apartment complex as a community project.

Mr. Jimison said the last fire at the retirement village occurred in 1983 due to an electrical malfunction.