East Lansing firefighter Jim Hudson, center, talks to fellow firefighter Jeff Lund, left center, as first responders clean up and investigate a fire that erupted Aug. 15 at 129 Burcham Apartments. The fire began in an apartment on the second floor and spread up the back wall. Kat Petersen/The State News
The residents of 129 Burcham Apartments, 731 Burcham Drive, moved in on time following an Aug. 15 fire in one of the units.
The fire began in an apartment on the second floor and spread up the back wall, burning some of the wiring running between units and causing smoke to infiltrate some of the surrounding apartments, East Lansing Fire Inspector Gerald Rodabaugh said.
The occupant of the apartment moved out several days prior to the fire and DTN Management Co. was in the unit the day of the fire, preparing it for the next resident, Rodabaugh said.
The fire was electrical in nature and originated under the kitchen sink of the second-floor apartment. Rodabaugh described it as a “slow, smoldering fire” that burned for several hours before the authorities were contacted.
Former MSU student and current Lansing resident Mike Rushlow was living on the second floor of the complex at the time of the fire and reported it to the East Lansing Fire Department.
Rushlow smelled the fire while visiting a friend in a neighboring unit and thought it was coming from an illegal bonfire nearby.
“I’ll never forget the smell,” Rushlow said. “It smelled like a campfire, like someone was roasting marshmallows.”
Rushlow called 911, intending to report the bonfire, but when he stepped out of the apartment, he was informed by a woman in the parking lot that the building was on fire. Rushlow told the dispatcher about the fire, then he and his girlfriend went door-to-door to alert the other residents.
Shortly after the building was evacuated, DTN arrived with the American Red Cross, which offered hotel rooms to the displaced residents and food stipends for any perishables spoiled during the time they were not allowed in their apartments.
Media arts and technology junior Steven Uray was in the complex at the time of the fire and will be living there this school year as well.
He said he was able to get back into his apartment the next night, and DTN took care of the smoke damage.
“The apartment really smelled like smoke the day after, so I had DTN shampoo the carpet — which they did for free — and in a day or so it was gone, or I just got used to it,” he said.
Rodabaugh said some of the wiring in the walls was damaged by the fire, and some of the service equipment suffered water damage when the flames were extinguished. The wiring was replaced, and the complex is updating the service equipment, but the damage was not too severe, Rodabaugh said.
The cabinets in the third-floor apartment have to be replaced because they were removed so firefighters could open the wall and put out the fire.
Robert Gagniuk, a leasing manager at 129 Burcham Apartments, said they were fortunate the fire occurred when it did because they had time to repair the apartments before new residents moved in.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
