06/02/2024
Pinconning Fires - Updated
Fifteen months ago, in late October of 2022, Pinconning saw two unoccupied buildings burn in suspected arson fires. Early Monday morning, two more structures were destroyed by fire.
The first, at the former Currie TV building at 201 West 3rd Street at the southwest corner of the intersection of Manitou Street, was reported around 2:00 am. The structure was fully engulfed when Pinconning-Fraser Fire Department (PFFD) crews arrived. With mutual aid from other Northern Bay County departments, they were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent building at 203 W. 3rd, which sustained superficial damage.
The building was of block construction, with wooden beams supporting a wood and tar flat roof, and was apparently used for storage by the owners. All of the contents were obviously destroyed, with the roof and part of the east wall collapsed when dawn broke on Monday.
PFFD Assistant Chief Ben Ramsay said that during the course of fighting the blaze, a water main on 3rd Street partially failed, reducing available water pressure. They had tankers on scene and were able to extinguish the fire with the water available from the hydrant and what was on the responding trucks. He noted that the mains in that area are only four inches in diameter, and that drawing 1500 gallons per minute through that size line is difficult in any circumstance. The departments cleared the scene around 4:00 am.
The second fire, reported around 6:00 am occurred at the former Locker Plant at 203 East 2nd Street. The building had been undergoing renovations for several years and was unoccupied.
City employees responding to the broken water main from the first fire helped ensure that residents were out of the two houses immediately east of the fire. Again, it was fully engulfed when crews arrived, and initial efforts were focused on preventing the spread of the fire to an adjacent structure, this one an occupied home. Those efforts were successful, with the home sustaining only minor damage to the siding and shingles and one cracked window. Power that had been cut to the house during the blaze was restored in the afternoon.
The blaze was difficult to extinguish, due to the construction of the rear portion of building, consisting of numerous concrete block rooms with metal roofing, as well as the fact that construction materials were stored in the area. Satkowiak & Sons of Linwood brought a small excavator to the site to pull off the metal roofing and expose the hot-spots inside. Fire crews cleared the scene around 2:30 in the afternoon, but returned around 6:30 pm after several of those hot-spots rekindled. They soaked the remains again at that time.
In addition to the damage to the home east of the fire site, the Lee-Ramsay Funeral Home to the west of the fire location had obvious visible damage to vinyl siding
Assistant Chief Ramsay spoke to the Journal on Tuesday morning. He first thanked the other departments that responded, Garfield, Gibson, Kawkawlin, and Mt. Forest Townships, and noted that with the shrinking number of volunteers for all departments, that mutual aid is vital to everyone. He also noted that Northern Bay Ambulance, the Bay County Sheriff’s Department, Pinconning Police Department, and Consumers Energy were all on the scenes, and thanked H & H Bakery for providing refreshments.
He noted that neither structure had active electric or gas service, supporting the theory that the fires were deliberately set. In Monday’s fires, as with the ones from 2022, there were residences close by with people sleeping. The potential for injury or death of a firefighter or innocent bystander grows every time this happens.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Arson Investigator is working to determine the exact cause of the blazes. Ramsay stressed that the community needs to come together to help solve these crimes. He urged those with security camera systems to check their footage from Monday night specifically, but to also to review it regularly to look for people doing things at night that they shouldn’t be. Anyone who has any information about the fires should contact the Bay County Sheriff’s Department or Pinconning Police as soon as possible.
