Rooftop fire at Gray & Co. quickly extinguished.

Rooftop fire at Gray & Co. quickly extinguished.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

HART — A rooftop fire Monday afternoon, April 5, caused 120 employees to evacuate Gray & Co., a food processing facility that specializes in cherry products.

A roofing crew was working on the roof, and a compound ignited, said Gray & Co. Director of Operations Dirk Williams. 

“They were putting down a roof, and it caught on fire,” said Hart Fire Chief Dwight Fuehring. “They put a glue down and torch it to melt it to it,” said Fuehring. The roofers fought the blaze with fire extinguishers before firefighters arrived, said the chief. 

Firefighters from Hart, Shelby and Pentwater quickly responded to the scene and got the fire out in about 15 minutes. Life EMS, the Hart Police Department and the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office also responded. 

“Everybody did a good job,” said Fuehring about the cooperation of the departments and the roofing crew’s swift actions. 

The fire, which was located at the back of building, caused minimal damage. 

“Founded in 1908, Gray & Company is today the US maraschino cherry and glace fruit leader,” states its website.

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