Overnight fire destroys Lake Linden building

LAKE LINDEN, Mich. (WLUC) - A fire destroyed a building at 209 Calumet St. on M-26 in Lake Linden Sunday night, however, no people were injured.

The Lake Linden Fire Chief says the fire happened near the corner of Calumet St. and 2nd St. Firefighters first responded just after 11:00 p.m. Sunday. It was described as an explosion by multiple callers.

“I was standing outside, about a block away,” said Lake Linden Resident Kim Taunton. “When I heard a loud boom, and then I saw a puff of smoke, and then I saw it light up with flames, so I ran out into the road, and I saw the fire on the garage.”

Taunton says there was a total of three separate explosions as it covered the garage. Once the garage caught fire, it quickly spread to the neighboring building.

“The garage was fully engulfed in flames, the stairwell to the building was fully engulfed in flames, and then the fire was on the roof of the big building here that’s now knocked down,” continued Taunton.

The fire chief described it as a very intense fire, with over 400,000 gallons of water used to put out the fire.

The first floor of the building is a former dentist’s office, with an apartment in the upper half. People who live on the second floor were out of town Sunday night, but a cat died in the fire.

The Lake Linden Volunteer Fire Department, Lake Linden Village Police, and eight or nine agencies from surrounding areas also responded. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“There’s no indications right now of a natural gas leak or anything like that until the fire marshal can take a look at it and kinda make a determination of it,” said Lake Linden Fire Chief Andrew Kotila.

The state fire marshal is expected to visit the scene this week.

The scene was first cleared by 5:30 a.m. Monday. The Lake Linden Volunteer Fire Department returned at 6:00 a.m. and left again by 8:30 a.m. Some smoke may still be visible, but the fire chief says it’s just leftover steam.

TV6′s Houghton Hancock Bureau Reporter Colin Jackson is at the scene Monday and will have a full report on your TV6 Early News at 6:00 p.m. ET.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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