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Cause unknown, no suspicious origin for L&N/Greenway Disposal fire

ALPENA, Mich. — A structure fire that destroyed the L&N/Greenway Disposal building in Alpena does not have a suspicious origin, but investigators may never know what exactly started the fire.

Alpena Fire Department says their investigation into Monday’s fire at L&N/Greenway Disposal is complete. The fire started on the south side of the building near the trash compactor and disposal area. While the time that the fire began is unknown, drivers could see the entire building engulfed at 10:40 p.m. on Monday.

Crews worked until Tuesday morning to put the fire out and clear debris. While officials say there is no suspicious origin- what started the fire may never be known due to the extent of the damage.

“When we investigate a fire, we try to reenact, or try to put the scene back together,” said Cpt. Andy Marceau, the Community Risk Reduction Officer. “With everything being displaced in so many locations it’s really hard to do that, so it’s kind of an educated guess or hypothesis to figure out what could and what couldn’t have started this.”

Marceau says they could not rule out an electrical fire, equipment malfunction, or even hot ashes from garbage. By Tuesday, 40 first responders from Alpena City Fire, Alpena Township Fire, Alpena CRTC, and Maple Ridge and Presque Isle Townships were fighting the blaze.

The Salvation Army, Alpena Police, Alpena County Sheriff, and Michigan State Police also assisted firefighters through the night,

“It was great cooperation between departments and a lot of people helped,” said Marceau. “From tow truck companies to Salvation Army and all the responding fire departments, it was a great help and great thanks to everybody for chipping in.”