By Scott Sullivan
Editor
A quiet country night in Laketown Township burst into flames, explosions, emergency lights everywhere late Friday into early Saturday.
“It was a barn fire,” Graafschap Fire Chief Doug DenBleyker said, near the 140th Avenue/63rd Street corner. “Guy had a lot of ammo stored there.
“Someone reported helicopters? Nope,” he said.
Neighbor fire departments from Saugatuck, Ganges, Hamilton, Overisel and Park townships sent trained crews and tankers, as there are no hydrants there, to assist.
Saugatuck furnished blaze photography, a valuable teaching tool, by Erin Wilkinson as shown here; plus IT director Erik Kirchert’s more-detailed post account, shared with The Commercial Record.
First reports, he said, were of a house burst into flames with two large explosions. The lead officer on scene radioed a large outbuilding was involved, with home nearby spared of damage.
“The homeowner,” said Kirchert, “stated roughly 30 pounds of black powder ammunition was in the barn.”
The blaze, he went on, was under control by 1 a.m. and overhaul began. Consumers Energy and Semco reps arrived to shut off utilities. AMR Ambulance Holland furnished medical standby.
All fire crews had cleared sight by 3 a.m., Kirchert said.