Bay City Volunteer Fire Department (BCVFD), the Bay City Fire Marshal, and the Bay City Police Department (BCPD) were sent to a house on fire at 4 Shadow Lane shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15.
A local resident notified the 9-1-1 dispatcher of heavy grey smoke coming from the home.
The Fire Marshal was the first to arrive and identified heavy smoke from the residence and flames showing from the roof.
BCVFD firefighters arrived and called for assistance from Markham Volunteer Fire Department.
It took the fire departments about one and a half hours to extinguish the fire.
On that Shadow Lane fire, a neighbor posted on Facebook that the fire hydrant didn’t work.
“The cap on the hydrant was frozen up,” Fire Marshal Dan Shook said.
It took about 10-15 minutes to get the cap freed up.
Once the cap was freed up, the hydrant worked as designed, Shook said.
The fire departments remained on scene for an additional hour and a half performing overhaul operation, he added.
Total loss due to the fire is estimated to be about $400,000.
No one was home at the time of the fire, but family members said a pet cat died in the fire, but two iguanas survived.
No injuries were reported.
The fire marshal performed an investigation.
It was determined that combustible material was left near the gas burning fireplace.
Due to the cool morning, the residents had left the fireplace burning when they left the residence, Shook said.
The BCVFD, the Bay City Fire Marshal, and BCPD also were sent to a house on fire at 2509 Ave K at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15.
The resident identified sparks and flames from an outlet.
The fire department arrived on scene to discover the fire had already self-extinguished.
They used ventilation fans to remove the smoke from the residence.
The female resident was evaluated by EMS, but transport to the emergency room was not required.
The loss of the fire is estimated at less than $500.
The fire marshal performed an investigation.
It was determined an undersized extension cord was used to power a portable electric space heater.
Because the extension cord was undersized for the heater, it caused the cord to overheat and arc, causing the fire.