The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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DEVASTATING, YET FORTUNATE
Fire destroys Chelsea Shopping Center; no one injured in the three-alarm blaze
By Edward Freundl, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 8, 2008
Firefighters from Chelsea, Dexter, Ann Arbor Township, Pittsfield Township, Manchester Township and Saline converged on the three-alarm fire that was reported at 12:46 p.m. at the Chelsea Shopping Center at Old US-12 and South Main Street.
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In addition, manpower from Clinton and Unadilla Township was called in to staff the Chelsea fire station.
The original dispatch reported "smoke coming from roof of Aleko's," and witnesses said the fire began on the roof of the complex above Aleko's Carryout and Hicks Cleaners. High winds quickly carried the flames in each direction.
"When we arrived it was already heavily involved," said Chief Jim Payeur of the Chelsea Area Fire Authority.
"Flames extended all the way across the roofline, and we called for Dexter and Pittsfield Township to set up a flanking maneuver to come at the fire from both sides."
The wind-whipped flames raced across the roof from Pamida to the Chelsea Grille as aerial units poured water down.
City staffers also raced into action on hearing of the fire.
As fire units from other departments began arriving, Chelsea Zoning Administrator Jim Drolett radioed the city's water treatment plant to increase the flow of water to the site.
"Get the ROs (reverse osmosis water softening units) turned off so we can get all the water we can down here," he called.
Workers with the city Electric Department quickly took the shopping center offline.
"The first thing we do is cut the power to the buildings to make it safer for firefighters," said Electric Department Superintendent Bob Shepherd.
"We've got power shut down for the whole strip mall, and we'll have to wait until they have (the fire) under control" to restore power, he said.
Within 15 minutes the fire had gathered enough momentum to begin causing serious structural damage.
The large crowd that gathered to watch the spectacle let out a collective gasp as the brick faÁade in front of Hicks and Aleko's came crashing down.
It very nearly crushed two firefighters who were pouring water on the faÁade only seconds before the collapse.
Although the exterior of the structure was badly damaged, the interiors of the stores and restaurants suffered smoke and water damage but were saved from the flames.
"It's a solid metal roof with a sprinkler system underneath, and it never got through the steel plate," Drolett said. "There were no flames coming out of the stores."
The fire was contained primarily to the false roofline, constructed of plywood and sheet metal on a wooden frame.
"This is a building construction trick — it all looks like one roofline and hides the different building heights and the air conditioning units, but it goes down at a 90-degree angle on the back," Payeur said.
"We had moderate extension of the fire to a couple of storefronts, but we were able to stop it pretty well. There was no fire damage inside; it was all smoke."
The style of construction had a lot to do with limiting the damage.
"It's block, steel and brick, with a fire suppression system," said Rene Papo of Magellan Properties, who built the mall in 1988.
Some people at the scene complained that the sprinkler system didn't come on, but Papo countered that the system is not designed to operate that way.
"The suppression doesn't help if the fire's on the roof," he said.
Papo explained how the sprinkler system works:
"They don't just all come on at once; each sprinkler head has a heat sensor and when it reaches a certain temperature, they come on individually," he said.
"If the fire's above the sprinkler, I don't think it would come on - that's why you build steel-and-block buildings."
First Holding Management Co. LLC of Wixom is the current owner of the mall.
While at the scene Tuesday. company spokesman Larry Freeman declined to comment on the fire or on what the company's response would be in the aftermath.
The fire was declared under control at approximately 3 p.m. Monday, and by 4 p.m. Tuesday, fire officials still had not confirmed the cause but were working on a theory.
"Right now they are leaning toward electrical," Payeur said Tuesday. "The state fire marshal will be in town (Wednesday), and we'll ask him to take a look at it."
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