Lansing fire battles apartment fire
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Residents of an apartment complex in the 5600 block of Appleton Ave. were awakened to the smell of smoke Saturday morning.
Lansing Fire Department says they received a call for a fire at 4:49 a.m. Saturday morning for a fire at the apartments. When crews arrived on the scene they identified a balcony on fire. As the crew was working to battle the fire on the balcony, fire was seen coming from the roof.
No one was injured in the fire.
Fire officials estimate the damage to the building at $250,000 and $30,000 to the contents inside the building.
Scott Bean, a spokesman for the city, says residents in 12 units in the building where the fire occurred were displaced, and residents in three units in a neighboring building were displaced for a total of 15 units displaced.
He reports that the American Red Cross and the city’s Human Relations and Community Services were on the scene to assist those displaced by the fire. The Capital Area Transportation Authority provided a bus as a warm place for residents. Some residents were transported to the Letts Community Center while officials from HRCS and the Red Cross worked to identify housing needs.
Bean reports 7 individuals have requested housing assistance as a result of the fire.
Two buildings near the fire were also without natural gas for several hours this morning. That’s because the gas line for those buildings was connected to the building that had the fire. When fire officials shut the line off to prevent an explosion, it shut down natural gas in the two other buildings.
Bean says Consumers Energy was able to restore natural gas to those buildings within a few hours.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
This story has been updated with information from a city spokesman.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News.
