Early this morning, Kalamazoo fire crews responded to a blaze that engulfed a vacant building on S. Westnedge Avenue near Cedar Street. The fire, which was reported around 3 a.m., led to the closure of Westnedge Avenue as firefighters battled the flames, WWMT reported.
Despite the early hour, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, efficiently brought the fire under control by approximately 5 a.m., noted FOX 17. The fire started in the back of the structure and went on to destroy the roof, Public Safety Fire Chief Scott Brooks stated, "The house was built in 1865 it's been divided many times over into different apartments, and those kind of things, we were able to quickly attack the fire and knock the majority of it down," Brooks explained. However, due to the building's older construction, firefighters continued tending to hotspots within void spaces and the attic hours later.
The structure's historical significance represented a particular challenge as firefighters faced difficulty accessing flames in the attic space, as detailed by News Channel 3. Crews managed to safeguard adjacent homes from the fire, with only one experiencing superficial heat damage. "The exterior house is covered in a asphalt shingle, and so that got really hot really quick," Brooks told FOX 17, "And so we did have some bubbling of paint on the house next door, but we're able to put a Water Curtain up and protect the other exposure so there was no additional damage."
No injuries were reported in the incident, with officials confirming that the building was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The cause remains unknown, and ongoing investigations are expected to determine both the origin of the fire and the future of the damaged structure, according to WOODTV. After extensive efforts by the fire department, Westnedge Avenue was eventually reopened to traffic.
