Fire destroys Bay City apartment building Saturday, displaces two families

BAY CITY — No one was injured, but two families were displaced by a fire that broke out early Saturday morning in an apartment building at 709 Seventh St. on Bay City's East Side.

Robert Phillips, assistant chief of the Bay City Fire Department, said the home and its contents is a total loss.

Phillips said firefighters were called to the blaze at 6:43 a.m. and arrived on the scene minutes later. The initial dispatch call included a mention of people trapped by the fire but everyone was out of the home within three minutes of firefighters' arrival.

Phillips said the cause of the fire is unknown with all options still being investigated. Fire crews on the scene reported the fire may have started on the second floor and later spread to the first. Phillips said the home's older-style balloon-frame construction may have contributed to the spread of the fire.

“Once it gets into the walls and attic it spreads throughout the house due to the balloon-frame construction,” Phillips said. “There are no firestops.”

Neighbor Roxanne Davis, a food service manager at the Bay County Jail, witnessed the fire and listened to the fire department’s radio chatter on her scanner.

“I kept running back and forth to the front of the house (and to the scanner),” Davis said. “I was curious why the (fire department) was still there.”

Davis noted that at first there was no visible smoke or flames but later they began shooting from the roof and windows of the structure.

It took until 9 a.m. to bring the fire under control including a 30-minute period where firefighters had to evacuate the house due to a danger of being trapped by the fire, Phillips said. Bay City firefighters were assisted by the Hampton Township Fire Department. 

Members from the Great Lakes Bay chapter of the American Red Cross provided relief and a Bay Metro bus was called in to act as area for firefighters to warm up due to the cold weather. Fire crews remained on the scene until about 12:30 p.m. with some investigators staying for another hour.

According to Red Cross officials, both families displaced by the fire are now taking up residence with other family members. Emergency Services Program Manager Ryan Manz said he did not know of any charities set up to help the victims of the fire, but said those wishing to help can donate to the Red Cross and designate the donation go to the families affected by the fire. 

He noted that any money above the amount of assistance given to the families involved would go to other families in a similar situation.

The property was valued at $56,000 before the fire, according to Phillips.

Read more:
Fire destroys Bay City apartment building Saturday, displaces two families