BAY COUNTY, MI (WNEM) -
A stubborn apartment fire in Bay County had emergency crews responding not once, but twice.
The fire first broke out at the Bangor Downs Apartments in around 7 p.m. Sunday night. WNEM TV5 is asking The Tough Questions as to why crews had to respond two times to that fire.
"We were on scene for almost two hours, an hour and 50 minutes," explained Fire Marshal Ken Bailey.
Bangor Township firefighters thought they had bested the blaze Sunday night, but that wasn't the case. They had to return to the building when it rekindled about an hour after they left. Officials said it turns out the fire was actually still smoldering in some insulation in the building's attic.
Some residents at the apartment complex weren't happy with the way the fire was handled originally.
"They put the fire out, and it's not even out, they had to come back out and restart everything all over again, get overtime and all this extra stuff and it should have been done right the first time," said Bangor Township resident Jodie Tatum.
TV5's Craig McMorris asked Bailey how this could happen? "Well, it has to do with the blown insulation," said Bailey. "A lot of time when we have fires, they get into attic space with blown insulation, it's like in layers, and it smolders in these layers, and you really can't see it, and unless it rekindles, you really don't know that there's a fire in there."
No one was seriously hurt, but one firefighter twisted his ankle. Crews quickly determined how the fire broke out -- it turns out that the fire started in an upstairs bedroom closet.
Fire investigators told TV5 a child playing with a lighter caused the blaze, which serves as another very serious reminder.
"Parents should keep lighters and matches away from children, because they have a curiosity aspect there where they can play with fire," said Bailey.
Crews took an hour the second time to finally put the fire out for good. Fire marshal Bailey says it's an unfortunate situation that occasionally crops up. "I would say it's something we look for, but you can't necessarily see it, so it's just something... it happens," said Bailey.
The fire caused about $35,000 in damage to the apartment unit, with the renter losing about $10,000 in contents.
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Crews at the scene of the fire on Sunday night.
