WALKER, Mich. — Crews were battling a blaze on Monday, after Green Ridge Apartments broke into flames that afternoon.
Crews worked for hours on Monday afternoon to extinguish the flames at the apartment complex off Alpine Avenue NW.
The fight to douse the flames started around 2:30 pm, when a caller alerted the fire department to a balcony fire.
Later, authorities say the fire likely started low, before traveling up the side of the building into the attic.
The Walker Fire Department said the building has a fire suppression system in living areas. However, wind conditions allowed the fire to overcome those suppression systems.
As soon as fire crept past the suppression systems, firefighters began attacking the blaze from above.
Firefighters used aerial trucks and aerial master systems to put down the fire.
No one was injured, and everyone escaped the building safely, said the Walker Fire Department.
Standing on the sidewalk, the people who live inside the apartment building, along with neighbors, watching the fire unfold.
One woman said she'd just lost the place she calls home.
"I live and work from home," said Michelle Jackson, a tenant. "So everything that we have worked for over the last five years is gone. It's all gone. We found out we don't have insurance. Even if we have a place to say, there's no future."
She says there was no warning— she doesn't believe the sprinklers were working when the fire broke out.
Apartment management has discussed relocating tenants to other apartments, Jackson told FOX17.
Anyone who rents, whether it's a house or an apartment, is strongly urged to get renters insurance.
Michigan state officials say renters insurance can cover the costs of your belongings, or anything you can't afford to replace, in the event of a fire or another emergency.
A landlord may have insurance, but that insurance only covers the structural damage to the property— not your belongings inside the building.
According to the State of Michigan, renters insurance can also help cover additional living expenses incurred due an emergency.
Typically, renters insurance can be purchased for $20 or less per month.
