Fire causes minor damage to tobacco warehouse apartments

By GAZETTE STAFF Friday, July 20, 2012

EDGERTON — Authorities said a roof fire that spread into an attic did minor damage to apartments at a newly renovated former tobacco warehouse in Edgerton on Wednesday.

Edgerton Fire Chief Brian Demrow said a contractor was grinding a gutter at about 2 p.m. Wednesday when sparks from the grinder touched off a small fire on the roof of the 16-unit apartment building at 351 W. Fulton St.

Demrow said the fire spread into the attic of the building, which is a former tobacco warehouse. The contractor called fire crews, who cut a hole in the roof and put water on the roof and into the attic.

Demrow had no damage estimates, but he said that the fire was contained “mainly to the roof,” and the apartments had “minor” damage, mostly from water.

The property owner, Dan Rinehart, said no smoke alarms or sprinklers were activated during the incident, and residents were allowed to return to their apartments Wednesday.

Rinehart said he was unable to find noticeable fire damage in the attic, but he noted that when fire crews chopped into the roof, they broke a sprinkler head linked to part of the building’s fire sprinkler system.

The apartments were completed this year and were partially paid for with a $260,000 economic development loan from the city of Edgerton.

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