By Gabriel Ouzounian
Review staff writer
Icy weather or not, house fires still manage to arise, and one such fire destroyed a building housing two motel units within sight of downtown Lake Orion.
Rustic Cabins Motel, a lodging establishment consisting of separate cabins on the shores of Lake Orion at 468 S. Broadway, experienced a fire that claimed two lodging units on Tuesday, Feb. 1.
The fire, which originated as a stove fire in the neighboring cabin unit, spread to the managers cabin which was housing in the same building, gutting both rooms.
Despite the severity of the accident, no one was injured by the flames, though STAR EMS did treat a number of people for smoke inhalation.
Police Chief Jerry Narsh, who received the call while at Skalnek Ford on M24, was the on of the first emergency personel on the scene.
‘I’m a 30 year veteran of the force, but when you arrive at a fire, it’s scary,? said Narsh. ‘There was smoke billowing out of the building and the windows, and I was just trying to keep people clear and get cars out of the parking lot to let the fire trucks and equipment in.
‘The natural reaction to a fire in a building is to run out, and these firefighters run in – I have a lot of respect for those guys.?
The first calls reporting the fire began pouring in at 5:25 p.m., with Orion Township Fire Department authorities arriving soon after. The fire units cleared the situation at 8:32 p.m.
The blaze, according to Narsh, started because of grease left to heat on top of the stove in one of the cabin units while the resident of the unit left to visit next door. When the resident returned, the blaze had already started.
The complex’s owner, Gary Jenkins, is planning to rebuild, but said that he ‘was not in the mood to talk about the event.?