HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — A suspected electrical fire caused approximately $50,000 in damage at a two-family home, 297 w. 22nd St. in Holland, according to Holland Fire Capt. Chris Tinney.
No residents and no firefighters were hurt, he said in a statement emailed to media.
Two men, who said they were the downstairs residents, stood across the street watching firefighters at work and speculating about the condition of their possessions. Witnesses at the scene said they did not believe the upstairs residents were at home.
Firefighters were summoned just before 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 1, 2021, finding heavy smoke pouring from the back of the two-story home. No one was inside, the two downstairs residents having escaped and called 911.
The fire started, Tinney said, in a lower-level roof area, burning into the second floor.
Tinney indicated that initial evidence points to the fire being caused by wiring in a concealed attic space, but the investigation continues.
The initial damage estimate is about $50,000 for the structure and contents, Tinney said.
He praised the “quick efforts” by firefighters for containing the fire so it didn’t spread to the next house to the west, which could have caused about $200,000 in damage.
Assisting at the scene were Holland Police Department and the city’s Victims Services Unit; Holland Township and Park Township firefirefighters, who brought equipment and air supplies. Graafschap and Hamilton firefighters filled Holland’s empty fire stations to responding the three other calls during the two-and-a-half hour incident on 22nd Street.
Tinney indicated smoke alarms were present and operating in the home’s smoke-filled areas.
“The department would like to remind community members to install working smoke alarms and test them monthly,” he wrote. “Your life may depend on them.”
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