News photo by Josh Jambor Pictured is a Alpena Township Fire Department fire truck.

ALPENA – Monday morning the Alpena Township Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 623 Michigan Avenue in Alpena County after smoke was seen coming from an upstairs window, according to an Alpena Township Fire Department press release on Tuesday.

Fire units arrived and observed light smoke coming from a second story window at the rear of the house.

The release stated that firefighters initiated an interior attack, bringing the fire under control at 11:06 a.m. and declaring it fully extinguished at 11:20 a.m. Crews remained on scene for approximately one hour to conduct overhaul and begin the initial investigation.

The cause of the fire is believed to be electrical in nature. Alpena Township Fire Chief Tim Baker said that the home did not have any smoke detectors.

“There were no smoke detectors in the home. It is important to have a smoke detector on every level of your home, including the basement,” Baker said. “It is recommended to have a smoke detector in each bedroom or outside sleeping areas.”

“If you do not have smoke detectors, for your township residence, contact one of the township fire stations and we will provide detectors and install them for free,” Baker added.

Additional manpower was requested from the Alpena City Fire Department and Alpena CRTC to support operations.

According to the release, a total of seven Charter Township of Alpena firefighters responded, along with four personnel from the City of Alpena and three from Alpena CRTC. Responding agencies were assisted by Alpena Power Company, DTE Energy for utility control, and the American Red Cross for resident support.

“The Red Cross was contacted to try and find them a temporary place to stay due to the fact the power and gas were shut off to the home for the safety of the firefighters,” Baker said. “We advised the homeowner to not stay the night because of having the utilities turned off.”

Baker would like to advise the public to follow instructions and take precautions when using an indoor space heater to heat your home.

“If using a space heater, make sure it is one that has been tested and certified, keep all items at least three feet away, place on a hard flat surface, and plug them directly into the wall outlet, do not use an extension cord,” Baker said.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, space heaters are a leading cause of home fires, responsible for an estimated 44,210 home structure fires annually in the U.S. between 2016-2020.

These incidents cause roughly 480 deaths, 1,370 injuries, and over $1 billion in property damage yearly, with space heaters accounting for over 80% of all home heating fire deaths.

Josh Jambor can be reached at jjambor@thealpenanews.com.