Firefighters battle Adrian apartment building blaze

6/4/2013

ADRIAN - The residents of a three-story apartment building in downtown Adrian remain displaced after firefighters extinguished a blaze at the complex this morning, Adrian Fire Chief Paul Trinka said.

"There's smoke damage throughout the building," he said. "There's water damage in the front half of the building on the east side where the fire occurred. And so for now, everybody's out."

Mr. Trinka did not give a time frame for when residents would be able to return, but expected it to be a long process. He said some occupants were allowed back in the building to recover belongings.

"We don't want anybody to get zapped because there's water and wiring and things like that, so those things will all have to take place before they can move back in," he said. "Part of the problem is there's a hole in the roof in the apartment where the fire started, so that will have to be repaired otherwise the damage will just continue down on the lower floors."

There were no reported injuries and the chief did not provide a damage estimate. The chief said the American Red Cross was working with the occupants of the 24 residencies to find temporary housing. He also said residents were given vouchers for clothing and food.

The fire broke out shortly after 3 a.m., at the 100 block of South Main Street, and firefighters were done at the scene just before 9 a.m. The fire started on the third floor when someone was cooking food on the stove and fell asleep, Mr. Trinka said.

A Lenawee County sheriff's dispatch center spokesman said fire departments from Adrian city and Adrian, Palmyra, Raisin, Cambridge, and Madison townships were called in to fight the fire.