Fire causes ‘severe damage’ to Muskegon Co. business
FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — It was a call that Joel Forrest never expected to get.
“Somebody called and said, ‘Hey, your shop’s on fire,'” Forrest said.
Forrest owns a custom leatherwork and repair business on Airline Road near E Mount Garfield Road in Fruitport Township. He had just left the shop moments before he received the alarming call, and his two dogs were still there.
The caller was mistaken, it turned out. The fire Sunday afternoon wasn’t at Forrest’s business, but at his neighbor’s, Fruitport Auto Sales and Storage.
“It could happen anywhere,” Forrest said. “But it just stinks when it’s right next door.”
The building has three dozen different storage units. For the last four years, Forrest has used one of the units to store his customers’ items while he prepared to repair them. They included saddles, boat pads and even his son’s toy tractor.
“I had a customer’s chairs that were about 100 years old,” Forrest said. “Brought them in to get them reupholstered. They’re not replaceable.”
“Now I have nothing but ashes,” he continued. “It was a family heirloom. Something that was made 100 years ago that probably means something to someone’s family is the worst. No way to bring them back.”
The storage facility is right across from the Fruitport Fire Department. When crews saw fire coming from the roof, they arrived within moments. But because they had to work one unit at a time, it took longer to knock the fire down.
“This one happens to be all wooden construction on the inside,” Fruitport Fire Chief Brian Michelli told News 8 Sunday evening. “Obviously it burns fast, so you’re going from unit to unit, kind of just pick a spot where you think you can ahead of it and work back.”
Firefighters were able to knock down the majority of the fire. As of Sunday evening, there were spots firefighters couldn’t get to, so they planned on using an excavator to pull some personal belongings out of the units.
The building’s whole roof is damaged, Michelli said. Crews found one person with minor burns, who was treated by EMS on scene. The person chose to seek care on their own afterward, Michelli said.
The middle 12 storage units were “severely damaged,” according to Michelli. Items from the units on the outside may be salvageable but firefighters are still inspecting. Fire damage is throughout the entire roof, he said.
Police shut down part of Airline Road for hours. The fire’s location made things tricky for firefighters.
“The strongest problem we had to deal with today is we need lots of water and the hydrant’s on the other side of Airline Road,” Michelli said. “So shutting down a massive road not having people get hurt or your hose get run over is a challenge.”
While how the fire started is under investigation, someone was in one of the storage units at the time, Michelli said.
Several fire departments, including Fruitport, Norton Shores, Ferrysburg and Muskegon Township also responded to the fire, according to Muskegon County dispatch.
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