Firefighters respond to fire on Third Avenue

ALPENA, Mich.– Alpena firefighters responded to a house fire in the 500 block of Third Avenue today.

The fire was reported in the early afternoon. The resident heard the smoke alarm go off and saw smoke coming from the basement. They immediately called the fire department and left the home with their dogs. Both the city and township fire departments responded to the call. According to Fire Chief Bill Forbush, the flames were mostly confined to the basement.

“We went to that area immediately and tried to make a quick attack on it. However, it had extended— as it frequently does on these older homes— so we had to check for extension in the walls and then the attic and make sure it wasn’t in those areas. The heavy body of the fire was in the basement and was relatively quickly extinguished by the first arriving crews.”

According to the fire department, the fire was caused by improperly–disposed smoking materials

In Alpena, several home fires have been caused by smoking over the past several years