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Greenville Department of Public Safety officers Josh Lyster, left, and Kenna Allen work to extinguish a shed fire at 613 E. Pearl St. in Greenville on Wednesday morning. That shed and a neighboring shed on E. Coffren Street were determined to be total losses. A dog that was in the Pearl Street shed was also killed in the fire. — DN Photo | Cory Smith
GREENVILLE — All residents escaped unharmed after an early-morning fire on this city’s northeast side destroyed two neighboring backyard sheds, though a family dog died in the blaze.
The Greenville Department of Public Safety was dispatched at approximately 6:15 a.m. to the report of a shed fire in the vicinity of the 800 block of N. Fifth Street.
Upon arrival, firefighters and officers discovered a shed that was fully involved just east of N. Fifth Street at 613 E. Pearl St.
According to GDPS Sgt. and Fire Lt. Brandon Allen, firefighters immediately began an offensive attack on what he said was a 20-by-10-foot structure.
“Public Safety officers Josh Lyster and Kenna Allen started that attack and had a pretty good knockdown on that initial structure,” he said.
However, by the time firefighters were able to contain the fire on the shed, Allen said the flames had jumped the property line to the south and caught fire to a neighboring shed located only a few feet away at 608 E. Coffren St.
“But by that time, the flames were so intense and involved, they actually spread to a neighboring structure,” Allen said. “At that point, we had requested Montcalm Township to assist with personnel and tactical reasons. We had some obstacles, some fence lines to get through, which made it difficult to hit that other structure from the (Pearl Street) side.”
The Montcalm Township Fire Department staged an engine on the Coffren Street side of the scene and was able to successfully extinguish the second shed fire.
“Eventually, we got both structures knocked down,” Allen said. “Both structures are determined to be a total loss, with the exception of the Pearl Street shed, where we were able to save about a third of it.”
While Pearl Street homeowners Austin and Iesha Kent confirmed to the Daily News that everyone escaped the home safely, they feared the worst for one of their dogs, which was in their backyard shed at the time of the fire.
“It was a neighbor who came banging on our door, letting us know that our shed was on fire,” Iesha said.
Once the fire was extinguished, Allen confirmed that the dog had died in the fire.
“We were not aware of the dog, as we were notified after the fact,” he said. “The dog has since been located and turned over to the family. Based on the conditions, the intensity of the flame and location of the fire, it’s most likely that the animal was not going to survive.”
Additionally, Allen said both sheds contained a number of items belonging to the homeowners, including appliances, tools and some vehicles.
Coffren Street homeowners Molly and Rueben Arellano had already left for work at Marvel Refrigeration — less than a mile from their home — prior to the start of the fire.
The husband and wife raced home, where their high school-aged children and three dogs were still inside, after coworkers began to tell them they believed their house had caught fire.
To their relief, when they arrived to the scene, they discovered that the fire had been limited to their backyard shed.
“At least it’s not the house,” Rueben said, despite having lost a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to the fire that he had recently purchased.
“You never think it’s going to happen to you until it happens,” Molly added.
As for the cause of the fire, Allen said it remains under investigation at this time.
“At this point, it’s still to be determined. We’re in the early stages of the investigation,” he said. “The cause, that’s going to be up to our fire investigators to potentially determine, but at this time, it remains under investigation.”
Allen confirmed there was a wood stove inside the Pearl Street shed structure, where the fire is believed to have started.
“It’s in question whether it was operational or not,” Allen said. “That’s to be determined if it played a role in the fire.”
Allen added that extension cords did run to the shed on the Pearl Street property as well, while there was no power supplied to the Coffren Street shed.
With the fire as intense as it was, Allen said a 911 call made by one of the neighbors likely allowed firefighters to arrive at the scene in time to prevent the fire from spreading to any surrounding residences.
“One of the neighbors, a juvenile, had the instinct to call 911 immediately and get us here,” he said. “That was great to see. Based on the intensity of the fire at the time, it could have easily started spreading one way or another, depending on wind conditions. Every residence on the property, all vehicles and most of the surrounding fencing were saved, with only some minimal damage.”
Allen also credited Montcalm Township’s mutual aid for arriving as quickly as it did to help extinguish the Coffren Street shed fire.
“This early in the morning, personnel is always an issue, so having Montcalm Township here was a great help,” he said. “We strive to have that partnership with our neighboring departments so we can have successful knockdowns like this.”
GDPS Director Brian Blomstrom said that while both sheds were a total loss, firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to any additional structures.
“I think it was a very good, aggressive attack,” he said. “The fencing is what hampered the extinguishment of the shed on the other property. We just could not walk over, through those obstructions to get to that other shed. We had enough personnel on this side, but we ended up having two properties involved. So it was a good call to activate Montcalm Township so we’d have people on the other side.”
Montcalm County EMS assisted at the scene.
