News Photo by Crystal Nelson

Firefighters from the Alpena Township Fire Department responded to an early morning fire on Friday at two neighboring houses along U.S.-23 South, between Squaw Bay and Ossineke. Lieutenant John Clements said no one was home when the fire started in one house, pictured left, but that they had received a call from neighbors who had seen the house on fire and that it was infringing on their home, pictured right. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time. Clements said they called for mutual aid from Sanborn Township Fire Department and the Alpena Fire Department and that they responded very quickly. He said township firefighters worked on the house where the fire originated, while firefighters from Sanborn Township and the Alpena Fire Department worked on the fire at the neighboring home. The township also requested mutual aid from the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and firefighters from Hubbard Lake. The Michigan State Police-Alpena Post directed traffic while the road was reduced to one lane.