Ilsa Minor | Daily Press Escanaba Public Safety Detective Todd Chouinard, left, assists another officer in fitting an air tank at a fire caused by a lightning strike in the 500 block of South 12th Street Monday afternoon. In addition to the fire on South 12th Street, lightning strikes caused two additional fires in Escanaba Monday, one at an abandoned home and one in a tree.

ESCANABA — Separate lightning strikes are believed to be the cause of three fires in Escanaba Monday, which kept firefighters from area fire departments busy for hours.

Escanaba Public Safety officers were called out the first fire at a two-unit apartment building, located at 514 and 512 South 12th Street, at 3:42 p.m. on a report of a structure fire. Upon arrival, officers discovered smoke coming out from roof vents and there was a fire in the attic.

It was initially reported everyone was out of the building when officers arrived, however it was soon discovered a male could still be inside one of the apartments. Firefighters found the man and were able to get him and his dog out of the building safely.

After the man was out of the building, firefighters began attacking the fire and attempted to extinguish it. According to Escanaba Public Safety, the fire was difficult to extinguish because it was in the building’s attic and, due to the building’s construction, there were many voids that could not be reached without venting the roof and wall.

Heat and humidity and firefighter fatigue further complicated the firefighting efforts. One firefighter sustained a minor injury while working to extinguish the fire, and firefighters were on scene until 7:18 p.m.

While fighting the fire on South 12th Street, a second fire call came in. A tree, located at 524 South 15th Street, had lit fire as the result of another lightning strike. Firefighters from the Escanaba Township Volunteer Fire Department responded and extinguished the burning tree.

While firefighters were finishing up at the initial structure fire, Escanaba Public Safety was

dispatched for a third fire, this time an abandoned residence at 1612 North 20th Street. Upon arrival, there was heavy smoke coming out of the eaves of the residence.

Firefighters checked the structure to ensure no one was inside, and Escanaba Township firefighters set up their platform truck before Escanaba Public Safety could leave the first fire and arrive at the scene. The fire was located in the home’s attic and was extinguished in a short time.

Escanaba Public Safety was assisted by Delta County Central Dispatch, Escanaba Township Fire Department, Ford River Fire and Rescue, Gladstone Volunteer Firefighters, Michigan State Police, the Delta County Sheriff Department, Rampart EMS, DTE Energy, Escanaba City Electric, the Red Cross, and private citizens.