The eight-unit apartment complex, housed in the 1935 structure at 49 S. Monroe St., caught fire around 4 a.m. Sunday. The fire was mostly contained to the top floor, according to the City of Monroe’s Monroe Public Safety Department.
“It is inhabitable right now,” City of Monroe’s Fire Commander Scott Smiley said Monday morning.
Smiley said the building’s fourth floor was under renovation; another apartment was being constructed.
One firefighter, a two-year veteran of the force, was injured and sent to the hospital for observation.
“He fell and hit his head. We had him checked out. He should be released today,” Smiley said on Monday.
Smiley said three other departments — Monroe Township, Frenchtown Township and LaSalle Township fire departments — battled the blaze with three ladder trucks until about 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
Libby Gruber, a Monroe resident living downtown, learned about the fire when her friend awakened her.
They went to the rooftop and started taking photos and shooting videos.
“It looked like it was going to spread,” Gruber said. “The flames were so high. I was amazed they were able to keep the fire to one building. It took a long time to get it under control. There were chunks of the building on the sidewalks. Water was everywhere. It pooled in the street and almost reached my building.”
According to the City of Monroe’s Monroe Public Safety Department, the firefighters made an interior attack. Then, the fire conditions worsened, and all interior crews were evacuated. Around noon, there were some smoldering spots, and firefighters returned to the building. But, it wasn’t a rekindle, Smiley said.
“The way the building was constructed, it had a subfloor with a gap. That made it challenging to find and get into that area,” Smiley said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. There is no estimate yet on damage, and it’s still unknown if the building can be saved.
“We’re coordinating with the building department,” Smiley said.
Smiley praised all the departments for their teamwork.
“For a fire as large as this was, we had really good coordination and teamwork. It was a good team effort that everyone gave. Expect for the firefighter injured, it went as well as it could have,” Smiley said.
Smiley said the last “big downtown fire” was about 15 years ago. That building was three stories.
The displaced apartment tenants were served by the Northern Ohio Region of the American Red Cross.
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“We did respond to the fire in Monroe. There were four volunteers total. The Red Cross assisted eight families who were impacted, a total of 12 people,” said Christy Peters of Monroe, regional communications manager for the Northern Ohio Region of the American Red Cross. “We provided financial assistance which they can use that for whatever they need – a hotel, clothes, food, etc. Our team will also be reaching out in the coming weeks to help them continue the recovery process and make sure they have access to community resources, if they need them. We also assisted the first responders who were there, providing breakfast and coffee.”
Assistance provided by the Red Cross during emergency comes from donations, Peters said. This Wednesday is Red Cross Giving Day. To donate, visit redcross.org/donate/giving-day.html/redcross.org/giving. Ninety percent of the Red Cross’ workforce are volunteers. To learn about volunteering, visit redcross.org/local/ohio/northern-ohio/volunteer.html.
The building was constructed in 1935 and was mainly offices until 2001, according to the City of Monroe’s Building Department. “It has eight residential, fully fire-suppressed residential units and an elevator to the second and third floors. This year, a current permitting was in place to add an additional four residential units on the fourth floor.”
— Reporter Lisa Vidaurri Bowling contributed to this story. Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Clean up, investigation continue on Sunday morning’s downtown Monroe fire
