“We were able to get just over 40 firefighters and command staff on scene very quick.”
In a report to the city commission Grand Rapids fire chief Brad Brown says there were multiple challenges when the Grand Rapids Brewing Company building at Fulton and Ionia caught fire on a busy Friday afternoon in February.
“There were several events downtown and an event at the Van Andel that night and there were people everywhere. We searched multiple buildings and evacuated the whole block.”
He says the fire that started in a basement kitchen spread up the air conditioning vents to the roof of the multi-story building.
“And the rubber roofing caught on fire and it was spreading pretty fast.”
The chief says the fire was out in about 15 minutes. He estimates the loss at 400 thousand dollars and based on a 12 million dollar rebuild estimate:
“We lost about 4 and a half percent of building and contents. I couldn’t have been happier keeping it to just under 4 percent of the building and having no injuries.”
Offices and apartments on upper floors had water damage. According to their website, the Grand Rapids Brewery Company on the first floor is closed until further notice.
