Police: 911 caller says candle started Muskegon storage facility fire

MUSKEGON, Mich. — Fire crews battled a fire at a self-storage facility in Muskegon early Friday morning.

Video shows a building housing multiple storage units engulfed in flames at Self-Storage Muskegon off of E. Laketon Avenue.

According to the Muskegon Fire Department, the call came in around 5 a.m.

The 911 caller, a renter of one of the storage units, reported that she was in her rental unit when a candle ignited combustible materials. The renter, a 37-year-old female, made it out of the fire on her own and with only minor injury.

The department's Deputy Director Jay Paulson said when they arrived most of the building was engulfed in flames.

Fire crews said they believe the fire started in the middle of the building and spread up into to the attic.

Once it reached the attic, it spread fairly quickly across the rest of the building due to it being all wood frame.

There were only six units in the middle building that weren't fully damaged. The fire also damaged vinyl siding on one of the buildings across from it.

On scene, Paulson said he has reason to believe there was a possibility someone had been living inside one of the units, and that is where the fire may have started.

Only a minor injury was reported.

The Muskegon Fire Department brought in a backhoe to help move around debris and items to ensure there weren't any hot spots left over.

Muskegon Fire Department said both police and fire are investigating.