HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Feb. 19, 2022) – Ten Holland residents were left homeless after a fire tore through a four-unit building at the Stratford Way apartment complex on Friday afternoon.
According to Fire Services Captain Chris Tinney of the Holland Department of Public Safety, crews were dispatched just before 4 PM to the structure on a report of smoke coming from the building. “The first arriving units found a working fire,” he said in a department statement. “Holland Police units arriving on the scene indicated that the occupants were out; however, they could not (immediately) confirm (that). Firefighters initiated an immediate attack on the fire to contain it and initiate a primary search that ultimately confirmed that there were no occupants in the structure.”
Due to high winds at the time, it took crews a couple of hours to bring the blaze completely under control, but as a result, the four units were declared uninhabitable. None of the residents were hurt, and three of four cats believed to be in the building were rescued; a fourth “has not been accounted for,” according to Tinney, who added, “Dollar loss estimates are not yet available, however the damage to the structure and contents are significant. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the department’s Fire Marshal (Bret Groendyke) will be initiating an origin and cause investigation over the next few days. Although it’s quite early in the investigation, there is no evidence at this time to indicate that the fire was intentional in nature.”
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