News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Firefighters exit a house that burned down on Tuesday after the structure of the building was deemed unsafe for them to battle the fire from the inside. A loud siren was sounded to let the firefighters know it was time to get out.

ALPENA — Rarely does the Alpena Fire Department fully evacuate its firefighters from a structure fire unless there is a serious threat to their safety.

On Tuesday, Alpena Fire Chief Rob Edmonds made a call to remove his staff who were battling a fire inside a structure to protect them.

Edmonds said several factors are considered before ordering firefighters from a burning building. He said smoke, fire intensity and growth, and the condition of the structure that is burning are things that he considers before making the decision to change course.

“It depends on what the fire is doing, is it spreading or are we making any progress on it,” Edmonds said.

During a fire in Alpena on Tuesday, Edmonds said the structural integrity of the building was considered before he made the call to abandon the firefighting effort taking place on the inside of the building. He said the floors on the second level were on fire and weakening, and the fire was spreading quickly, so he decided to pivot and put out the fire in another fashion.

“When the hair on the back of your neck starts to rise, it is time to get everyone out of there,” Edmonds said.

To ensure all of his staff knows there is an evacuation order issued, each firefighter is radioed to confirm they received the evacuation order verbally. In addition, a loud and long blast from one of the fire trucks sirens is sounded as a backup measure to make sure fire personnel are notified of the evacuation, in case there are radio communication issues.

After exiting the building Tuesday, Edmonds said he conducted a visual headcount of his staff who huddled around him on the side of 2nd Avenue to make sure everyone was accounted for and nobody remained in the structure.

He said that is the best way to know that nobody was missing and perhaps left in the burning structure.

“All fire operations stop until we can account for everyone,” Edmonds said. “When everyone is accounted for, then we go into our defensive posture to continue to put the fire out from the outside.”

During the fire operations on Tuesday, Edmonds said there were some communication challenges. He said the old radio the department uses is old and unreliable and some of their shortcomings reared their head during the fire. He said he made a request for about $107,000 to the Alpena Municipal Council for new radios, which was approved. He said the new radios are ordered and should be received, programmed, and approved by the State for use before June 1.

“The new radios are needed,” he said. “If we have a fireman in distress and the radios aren’t working, then we have big problems.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.