Lowell Fire Dept Helps Battle Blaze in Saranac

The Lowell Area Fire Department was one of 15 agencies to respond to a fire at Dynamic Wood Products in Saranac on Friday evening. While a barn located at the business’s Pinckney Road property was a total loss, firefighters successfully kept the blaze from spreading to an office building and fuel tanks located next the barn.

“Lowell Area Fire Department sent a full department response to assist and was on the initial call request for help,” said Lowell Fire Chief Cory Velzen when reached via email. “We are extremely proud of the firefighters and their performance on scene.”

Semi-Truck May Have Sparked Fire

As of Monday morning, the cause of the fire was still being investigated, according to Tony Koster, Fire Chief for the Saranac Community Fire Department.

However, the initial call was for a semi-truck on fire inside the barn. That call came through at approximately 4:40pm on Friday, Jan. 3. While firefighters were enroute, they were notified that the semi had been moved from the barn and both the truck and barn were on fire, according to a post on the Saranac Community Fire Department Facebook page.

Once the size and scope of the fire was apparent, the Saranac Community Fire Department requested mutual aid, and the following agencies responded:

• Berlin-Orange Township Fire Department
• Clarksville Fire Department
• Ionia Department of Public Safety
• Lowell Area Fire Department
• Lake Odessa Fire Department
• Pewamo Westphalia Fire Department
• Grattan Township Fire Department
• Ronald Township Fire Department
• Orleans Township Fire Department
• Lyons-Muir Fire Department
• Alto-Bowne Township Fire Department
• Greenville Department of Public Safety
• Sheridan Fire Department
• Sunfield Fire Department

The Saranac Community Fire Department also extends its thanks to Ionia County Central Dispatch, Life EMS, the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office, Ionia County Victims Advocate office, C&L Trucking, Timpson Excavating, Consumers Energy and the Ionia County Road Department, all of which played a role in the response.

Team Effort to Limit Damage

The quick response by firefighters helped ensure damage from the blaze was confined to the barn. However, the rural location of the property required water to be transported to the site. One of the closest fill sites for tankers was in the City of Lowell, using hydrants in the area of Foreman, Riverside and Lincoln Lake.

“At one point we were sending over nine trucks back to the district to fill for water,” Velzen said. Those trucks included vehicles from the Alto and Grattan Fire Departments. “This required the assistance of the (Department of Public Works) to help with salting the roads and making sure the city’s water system was working correctly to support the demand,” according to Velzen.

In addition, the Lowell Area Fire Department reached out to the Ada Township Fire-Rescue Department to request their assistance in ensuring that Lowell calls could be covered during the fire. Ada moved one of their trucks into the Lowell Fire Station and responded to one medical call while Lowell firefighters were on the scene in Saranac.

The Saranac Community Fire Department reported that all hot spots had been extinguished by 4am – nearly 12 hours after the fire was first called in. There were no injuries reported, and according to one Dynamic Wood Products employee, it was business as usual for workers today.