Fire devasates Millersburg lumber business

by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor

Nearly every Presque Isle County fire department responded to fully involved structure fires at Cedar Log and Lumber, just outside the village limits of Millersburg Monday. Four buildings and a mulch pile were burning simultaneously out of control.

The heat from the fire was so intense, firefighters, EMT?s, and onlookers could feel the heat from the blaze standing on Millersburg Road. The smoke could be seen as far away as Rogers City. Steady southern winds blew the fire across Freel Highway and into a field, but was extinguished by the Department of Natural Resources who was on hand to prevent the fire from quickly spreading to a wider area. Buildings lost at Cedar Log and Lumber included two Quonset huts, the main sawmill building, and an out building. The fire is believed to have started between the mill and one of the Quonset huts.

EMPLOYEES HAD been working when the fire started and tried putting it out before calling the fire department. They have told fire investigators where they first saw smoke. ?Whether it was the equipment, or something by the equipment, or underneath, we have not determined what exactly it was,? said Case Township fire chief Doug Jarvis, who was at the scene for more than 12 hours. Of the three Quonset huts, one was spared the flames, between two that were completely destroyed. The business, owned by Dave Storms, employed between 35 to 38 people.

?That?s the hardest part,? said Jarvis. ?You take 30-plus employees out of Millersburg ? and most of the employees he had are living paycheck to paycheck. They are not going to get a paycheck this week.? The dry conditions and material at the scene helped to get the fire raging out of control in no time at all.

?IT?S ALL cedar,? said Jarvis. ?The mulch and the chips. He does a lot of planing up there. He kiln dries that, so it?s already dry. You take a cedar chip, it takes nothing to burn.? There had

been previous calls to the property for minor fires. Case Township fire crews were called to the scene several times Tuesday, as the fire flared up again and again. Of the seven responding departments, ?They just worked together so well on a fire that got so spread out, with so many buildings and so many hazards in the area. The guys worked really, really hard on this one. There was not too much time for breaks.?

Assisting were crews from Rogers City, Posen, Onaway, Forest-Waverly, and Ocqueoc-Bearinger, as well as the DNR. Presque Isle County Red Cross fed more than 60 volunteers and provided drinks and snacks.

?The Hot Spot? opened their restaurant and made hot dogs for firefighters. Five Red Cross volunteers stayed at the scene past midnight. Two young men, David Ellis and James Brooks, were commended for their assistance in taking drinks to firefighters and running to a neighbor for water.

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