HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Mar. 3, 2023) – Quick work by Fire Division members of the Holland Department of Public Safety prevented any injuries and kept damage to a minimum after a Friday afternoon blaze on the Hope College campus.
According to Captain Chris Tinney, crews were dispatched to Gilmore Hall off of East 10th Street at 2:12 PM on a report of a working fire in a basement laundry room. When they arrived, they didn’t see any indication of a blaze outside, but when they went downstairs, they encountered flames and heavy smoke. Installed sprinklers had contained the fire somewhat before the firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control, remaining on the scene for a couple of hours to help ventilate the scene .
Thanks in part to those sprinklers, direct fire damage was limited to just the equipment in the affected room, and along with properly maintained fire doors being closed, smoke was kept to that area as well. No firefighters reported any injuries in containing the blaze, while campus safety personnel were able to get the building evacuated in a quick and orderly manner without anyone being hurt. Students that were forced out of their dorms were able to return by 6 PM.
No dollar estimate of the damage caused by the incident was immediately determined, and while city Fire Marshal Bret Groendyke must still make a final determination as to a cause of the fire, Tinney said that the blaze could have started in a clothes dryer.
Comments