A firefighter stands to extinguish a couch fire in the intersection of River Street and Victor Street in Cedar Village during the early hours Saturday after the men’s basketball team lost to Duke in the fourth round of the NCAA Tournament. The East Lansing Police Department responded to numerous fire disturbances Saturday morning.
A number of couches went up in flames along with the MSU men’s basketball team’s chances of winning the NCAA Tournament late Friday night and early Saturday morning.
Following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament game, in which MSU lost to Duke, 71-61, East Lansing police and fire departments handled an unconfirmed number of fires, although one official estimated the number of fires around 14 or 15 as of about 1 a.m.
By about 12:40 a.m., East Lansing fire Lt. Leo Allaire said the department responded to about 26 total fire and emergency medical calls and had been busy all day. At the time, he said about 2-3 couches and one dumpster had been lit on fire.
Allaire could not be reached for an update on the total number of fires by press time.
At least two furniture fires occurred in Cedar Village, despite about 10 officers initially roaming the streets and blocking off exits to the area near the Red Cedar River immediately following the conclusion of the game.
A single couch also was burned on Louis Street.
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