PORTAGE, Mich — A Thursday night fire at the Briargate Apartments in Portage kept crews working for more than six hours.
The Portage Department of Public Safety first got the call around 9:30 p.m. to the apartments on Tudor Circle. They found black smoke and and flames coming out of a window on the top floor of the building, and then the first fire crew reported orange flames and smoke coming from the northeast windows.
The building was evacuated, and multiple crews came to the scene to help out, including Oshtemo, Texas Township, Comstock, and Kalamazoo. The ceiling of the primary apartment collapsed, and the fire had spread to the attic and the adjoining apartment. It was declared under control in about an hour, but crews had to keep working on-scene until 4 a.m. Friday.
Forty-three people in total were relocated. Some found housing on their own, the Red Cross helped some, and several were placed in the nearby Residence Inn. One resident was treated and released by ambulance personnel.
The cause is under investigation.
