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MERRITT â In his 30-year career as a firefighter, Merritt Area Fire Department Chief Ed Nettle has seen a lot.
When his department was dispatched over the weekend for the third time in a week, Nettle wasn t shocked. While it is unique for the rural volunteer fire department to have a string of fires like that in less than a week, Nettle said it s not unheard of. It s just that it hasn t happened in several years. In my 30 years, it can be cyclic. Some years we have 15 fire calls total. Then there are years we have 35 to 40 in our rural area, he said. You can have times where you have three or four fires in a short time and then go months without one. It s cyclic.
9 & 10 News
February 19, 2021
Firefighters battled freezing temperatures, heavy snow and heavy smoke during an early morning fire in Missaukee County Friday.
The Merritt Area Fire Department was called to a large fire at Phil’s Towing facility on East Houghton Lake Road in Aetna Township.
Crews say a pile of used scrap automobile parts was on fire.
The towing company used heavy equipment to break the pile apart so fire crews could put the fire out before it spread.
The cause of the fire is not believed to be suspicious and there were no injuries.
This is the second fire in less than a week where crews had to work in cold weather conditions.