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EAGLE HARBOR ’Äì Volunteer firefighters from Eagle Harbor Township, Copper Harbor, Lac La Belle and Calumet Township worked through Monday night and early Tuesday morning with law enforcement and other emergency service personnel to contain a structure fire that seriously damaged the upper floor and the roof of one of the oldest homes in Eagle Harbor, the historic Westlake home and bed and breakfast at 201 N. Front Street. A downstate couple, Dale and Kathie Minich, who were reportedly in the building at the time of the fire, escaped injury. Eagle Harbor Township Fire Chief Mike Radigan said his department received the alarm at 9:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 6, and didn’Äôt clear the scene until 4:36 a.m. on Tuesday. Their first action was to search the building. ’ÄúWe did a quick search of the whole building, including the upstairs, to ensure that there was nobody in there,’Äù Radigan said.
Thanks to the mutual aid agreement among local emergency services, about 30 firefighters, the Keweenaw County Sheriff and a deputy, Michigan State Police officers, Copper Harbor first responders and Mercy Ambulance were soon on the scene. UPPCO (Upper Peninsula Power Co.) staff disconnected electrical power from the burning house.
The volunteer fire departments’Äô immediate response and mutual aid helped prevent the fire from spreading to other buildings in the area. ’ÄúThey helped us a great deal,’Äù Radigan noted. ’ÄúIt’Äôs possible it would have spread.’Äù Eagle Harbor’Äôs new fire truck (a tanker-pumper) worked really well, he added. ’ÄúIt was a valuable piece of equipment at that scene,’Äù Radigan said. ’ÄúIt was the first truck in, and it held things in check until the other fire departments got there. It’Äôs a large supply of water. That’Äôs what we needed right away to keep (the fire) from spreading.’Äù
Radigan said he requested a special piece of equipment, the Calumet Township Fire Department’Äôs aerial platform or ’Äúbucket,’Äù which was helpful in putting out the fire that raged through the roof of the house and the upstairs. ’ÄúIt made it a lot easier to put water on it from above,’Äù Radigan said. Keweenaw County Commissioner Don Keith, who also serves as Eagle Harbor Township water officer and Keweenaw County emergency services coordinator, said he wished to recognize the efforts of all the firefighters who helped put out the fire and contain it; law enforcement officers on the scene; the Lac La Belle Fire Department’Äôs Women’Äôs Auxiliary, who brought water and refreshments; and other volunteers who assisted in the community effort. He noted first responders and Mercy Ambulance personnel helped firemen who suffered from heat or smoke inhalation. ’ÄúIt was the biggest fire we’Äôve had in the village in the 11 years I’Äôve been here,’Äù Keith noted. ’ÄúI’Äôm very appreciative of the efforts of so many people last night. They really made a difference.’Äù Keith said the building, owned by Tom and Carol Westlake, dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and was made of hand-hewn logs. It was designated as a historic building by the State of Michigan last year and is on the National Registry of Historic Sites. The state historic marker was removed during the fire and secured safely, Keith added. The Westlakes were apparently out of town at the time of the fire.
’ÄúThe true loss to the community is the historical significance of the building,’Äù Keith said. ’ÄúIt’Äôs my opinion that much of the building is salvageable. The artifacts or antiques on the first floor will have sustained smoke and water damage, but are otherwise intact.’Äù Radigan said the fire didn’Äôt damage the downstairs of the building very much, but there was substantial water and smoke damage there ’Äì especially water damage. The Keweenaw County Sheriff’Äôs Office is still investigating the fire to determine what caused it. ’ÄúWe don’Äôt suspect any foul play,’Äù Sheriff Ron Lahti said Tuesday, ’Äúbut we want to confirm the origin of the fire so we can find out exactly what happened.’Äù Lahti said he expected to go over the scene of the fire on Wednesday, Aug. 8, with Sgt. Don Brown, Fire Marshal from the Negaunee State Police Post, and Fire Chief Radigan to determine the cause of the blaze.
’Äì Michele Anderson August 8, 2001
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