Fire started in ceiling of apartment

    No one was injured but the fate of a couple historic buildings remains unclear after a major fire in downtown Blissfield Thursday morning.
    A fire marshall with the Michigan State Police has ruled the fire was “incidental,” according to Blissfield Township Fire Chief Gary Crist. The fire is believed to have originated in the ceiling of the second story apartments at 133 S. Lane St. at approximately 3:30 a.m. Crist said the fire appears to have been electrical in nature. It originated between the bathroom of the front apartment and kitchen of the back apartment.
    Residents in both apartments noticed the fire and fled the building. The Blissfield Fire Department arrived on the scene within minutes of the call.
    “The people in the back apartment smelled the smoke and saw the fire. They attempted to notify the people in the front of the fire, but they had already left the building,” Crist said. “The fire moved pretty fast. It was in the middle of the building when we arrived and it was shooting out the front windows really quickly.”
    Crist called in the ladder truck from Madison Township. The Adrian ladder truck arrived a little later. Also responding were firefighters from Riga, Deerfield and Palmyra. They battled the blaze until 9:30 a.m. Crist estimated the blaze was under control by 5:30 a.m. In all, there were 56 firefighters on the scene. No injuries were reported to Crist.
    Crist said the departments worked well together.
    “Everything went very smoothly. I was really happy with the operation. We had a couple hydrant hook-up issues, but they were worked out and it all went well. The firefighters did a great job,” Crist said.
    Crist credited the ladder trucks and the fire walls for keeping the flames contained. He said the flames, for the most part, were contained to the upper level of the Cakes n’ Shakes building, although the upper level of the Royal Expressions building, to the north, did sustain some charring. There also appears to have been no burn damage to the main floor at Cakes n’ Shakes.
    “The fire walls go all the way up to the roof. They definitely did their job,” Crist said. “The ladder trucks also allowed us to stay on top of the fire trucks and make sure the fire didn’t jump from roof to roof.”
    The damage from the fire was surprisingly light, but water damage could cost downtown Blissfield two buildings. A structural engineer from an insurance company is expected to inspect the Cakes n’ Shakes and Royal Expressions building this week. The old Treasures and Pleasures building, south of Cakes N’ Shakes, also suffered water and smoke damage. Smoke damage was reported at the D&P Cable building at South Lane and Jefferson streets. The recently renovated Bailey Chiropractic, two doors north of the fire’s origin, also suffered smoke damage and water in the basement.
    The village’s water system was up to the task.    
    “This was a great test of the new water plant — the first real test. We only lost a foot of water in the tower — and we have 32 feet of storage there — and a foot of storage in the tank at the plant, where we have 14 feet of storage and it’s already back up,” Wonacott said at 7 a.m. He later reported that water plant supervisor Kip Scott told him the water pressure never dipped below 58 pounds, which is considered to be satisfactory.
    At Monday’s Blissfield Village Council meeting, Trustee Mike Gunter, a firefighter for Blissfield Township, praised the work of the everyone on the scene.
    “The firefighters did a great job. The water plant responded. The DPW was on hand to clean up every thing up. The police did a good job directing traffic. Every one chipped in,” he said. “That’s a small town. So good for us.”