By Staff
NILES - For motorists frustrated by the numerous road construction projects in Niles, travel became even more complicated by two fires within less than a hour Monday.
At 11:25 a.m. the City of Niles and the Niles Township Fire Departments responded to a building across the street from the City Station on East Main Street.
Crews found heavy smoke coming from the multi unit 120 foot by 30 foot structure. Each subdivided unit was secured with theft prevention padlocks that slowed firefighters from making entry.
A box alarm was quickly ordered to bring additional fire crews from Howard Township, Clay Fire Territory and Bertrand Township to the scene to assist with controlling the blaze.
Many items had to be removed with the help of heavy equipment brought in by the Niles Street and Utilities Departments.
At approximately 12:12 p.m., with the fire near Maple Street still not completely extinguished, a second call was received at the Niles Dispatch Center reporting smoke coming from the attic area at 220 E. Main in the downtown.
A second alarm assignment that was already in route to the first call was diverted to the second incident. These departments included Bertrand Township, Berrien Springs, Buchanan City and Buchanan Township and select Niles City and Township command staff.
After crews arrived they discovered fire in the attic area. A third alarm including Buchanan Township and Harris Township was immediately called to the downtown incident but later ordered to a staging area set up at the Niles Fire Department after initial crews contained the fire. Edwardsburg Fire Department was positioned at the Niles Township Station Two in case additional calls were received in that area.
Niles is a member of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, Division 201, which is a system that coordinated these large scale multi-jurisdictional responses.
An investigation revealed that the storage building fire was caused when the owner accidentally ignited materials while cutting a padlock off the door of one of the units. The downtown fire was apparently started by contractors who were installing roofing earlier in the day. Storage building tenants should contact the owner to gain access to their stored items.
In all it took approximately 50 firefighters from 11 departments to handle the two blazes. Additionally on the scene support was provided by SMCAS who transported one firefighter to Lakeland Hospital with minor injuries. He was treated and released. Three additional firefighters suffered minor injuries that did not require transport. The Niles Chapter of the Salvation Army supplied refreshments to the crews.
Also on Monday, a construction worker in the Fifth Street area on the street replacement project inadvertently struck a water main. Niles Utilities Department worked to restore water service in the area. Water quality was not affected. Residents may have experienced fluctuations in water pressure throughout the evening as crews repaired the damage.