By Gari Voss &
Nick Brink
On May 8th, 2024, at approximately 9:37am, the Allegan Fire District was dispatched to a possible structure fire at 319 Russell St. The original Dispatch was to 319 Grant St. as the structure is situated on the corner of Russell and Grant Streets.
Allegan Fire District responded to this fire and arrived on scene at 9:40am to a single story house that had smoke coming from the eves on all sides of the building. The Allegan Fire District was informed that there was nobody home, but there were multiple pets including a dog inside.
The Allegan Fire District, with assistance from the Hopkins Fire and Gobles Fire Departments, extinguished the fire and performed mop-up to ensure that the fire was out.
Allegan Fire Chief Nick Brink shared, “I performed an after-fire investigation and concluded that the fire started in the kitchen, and was fueled greatly by the contents in the home.”
On May 13, 2024, Chief Brink went to the home with a fire investigator from Liberty Mutual and found that the fire did in fact start in the kitchen and was determined to be unintentional as it was likely caused by an electrical problem directly to the rear of the stove area.
“This fire was not suspicious and the 2 adult men who lived in the home were not in the home at the time of the fire,” added Chief Brink. “I am sad to report that there were 7 cats and a dog, and unfortunately 1 cat is still missing, 4 cats died in the fire, and so did the household dog.”
There was heavy heat and smoke damage throughout the home, and Fire Chief Nick Brink is unsure if their house will be remodeled or replaced.
