The Grand Marais Fire Department responded to a garage fire at 820 Creechville Road on Sunday, November 7. The structure was destroyed, but firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to the adjacent house and woodshed.
Cook County Law Enforcement received a cell phone call at 1:52 a.m. on Sunday, November 7, reporting a fire behind Cook County High School. The caller, who was heading toward downtown Grand Marais, wasn’t sure of the exact location but could see the fire from blocks away. Sheriff deputies hurried to the vicinity, finding the garage behind 820 Creechville Road on fire with a great deal of smoke blowing onto the Gunflint Trail.
The Grand Marais Fire Department and Cook County Ambulance were paged. Sheriff Deputy David Gilmore rushed to the adjacent house and alerted the residents, David Mills and Beth Ferry, and their two children, so they could evacuate the house in case the fire spread. Mills and Deputy Gilmore turned off the electricity to the house and garage and moved the two vehicles that were parked close to the garage.
At 2:04 a.m., the first fire truck arrived on the scene. A second truck was on scene shortly after and firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. The garage was obviously a loss, but firefighters worked to keep the fire from spreading to the house or the nearby woodshed and neighboring house of Andrew and Agne Smith.
As the fire died down, the Grand Marais PUC was called and linemen came and disconnected the electricity from the garage and reenergized the house so Mills and Ferry could reenter their house at about 3:00 a.m.
Firefighters stayed on the scene to ensure the fire was out, clearing the scene at 4:01 a.m.
At press time, the cause of the fire was undetermined.
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