Officials urge common sense to prevent fires
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ALPENA -- A rash of fires in Alpena County in the last month have kept local fire departments busy.
To prevent more fires, local fire officials ask people to be more cautious and take preparatory action before a fire ignites.
Over the course of the last month or so, firefighters from Alpena, Alpena Township, and other area departments in Alpena County have responded to several structure fires.
On several occasions, the structures were severely damaged. A dog died in one fire.
In less than six weeks, fires were extinguished on Long Lake Road, Sable Street, Barry Street, and State Avenue. On Aug. 23, firefighters from Alpena Township were putting out a fire on Walter Road when a second call came in for assistance at a larger fire on Spruce Road.
At some of the fires, Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center fire crews assisted local fire departments and, for the Long Lake fire, fire departments from outside of Alpena County offered mutual aid.
Alpena Fire Chief Rob Edmonds said it always seems that, when there is a fire, there are usually others soon afterward. He said it can then be a long period of time before there is another and the cycle repeats itself.
Still, Edmonds said, having so many fires in such a short period of time is purely coincidental.
"All of the fires appear accidental and unrelated," Edmonds said. "It is just one of those things when we don't see any fires and then get a bunch."
Edmonds said people can help prevent fires by unplugging cell phone chargers when they are not in use, avoiding burning candles, properly extinguishing cigarette butts, and avoiding overcharging lithium batteries because they can start a fire.
"A lot of it is just needing people to be good homeowners," he said. "A lot of the things that start fires can be prevented if people just use common sense."
Edmonds said people should have a plan in case of a fire.
He said simple things like having smoke detectors installed, having an escape plan, and setting up a meeting place when exiting the structure is imperative. He said that, when firefighters arrive, the quicker they know everyone is out of the house, the more time they can spend seeking out pets and trying to put out the fire.
"When we get there, our main focus is on life safety," Edmonds said. "If we know everyone is accounted for when we arrive, then we can spend time doing other things instead of doing a search for people."