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– OCP photo
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
HART — A grease fire in a kitchen destroyed a duplex unit at 1109 Parmington Ave. Tuesday afternoon, March 4.
The adjacent living space on the south side of the building was saved by firefighters, but received smoke damage and minimal fire damage. No humans were injured, but at least one cat died. Three other pet cats were being searched for inside the residence by firefighters.
The residents of the adjoining duplex unit were not home at the time of the blaze, which was dispatched at 12:08 p.m. said Hart Area Fire Department Public Information Officer Troy Maloney at the scene.
“There were two occupants, and these people did evacuate,” said Maloney of the destroyed portion of the building. “There are cats missing, but the people are accounted for. According to the occupants, it started as a grease fire — a cooking fire. It got away really fast.
– OCP photo
“When the first units arrived from Hart, the fire was blowing through the front windows and the gable ends of the attics, and they made an interior attack and knocked down the fire and then got up in the attic, and they knocked that down. We did an interior attack and fought the fire from the inside out.” Approximately 16 firefighters battled the blaze.
“Crews are inside searching for the cats and the hot spots,” said Maloney, who also serves as the Oceana County emergency manager.
“The interior of that side of the building is absolutely destroyed,” he said of the duplex unit on the north side.
The American Red Cross and Oceana County Victim Services Unit responded to the scene to help the displaced residents.
Pentwater and Shelby-Benona firefighters assisted at the scene, and the Grant Township Fire Department Rehab Unit responded to provide drinking water and other essentials for the firefighters on scene.
Also responding were Life EMS, Hart Police Department, the Michigan State Police and an Oceana County Sheriff’s Office fire investigator. Nothing appears suspicious about the fire, said Maloney.
It was not immediately known if the residence was insured. It was unknown at press time if the three other cats made it out safely.
“The fact we limited it to the unit of origin and didn’t have extension into the other unit is a great success on our end.”
UPDATE: Fire crews were dispatched back to the scene Wednesday, March 5, shortly after 4 a.m. when the fire rekindled.
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