North Main Street in Bowling Green was blocked at the 200-400 blocks for about an hour Tuesday afternoon as firefighters worked to put out a fire in an apartment on the second floor of 326 N. Main St.
Fire Chief Bill Moorman said he wasn’t sure how long the road was blocked. Firefighters were on the scene until 6:13 and he expects traffic resumed sometime before that.
The fire started in the kitchen of the apartment, which had one occupant. The occupant had left about 15 minutes before the fire report was called in.
Two trucks and an aerial ladder from Bowling Green Fire Division responded, as well as a truck from Middleton Township and an ambulance.
Bowling Green police arrived first on the scene, Moorman said. He praised their efforts to clear people from the building. There are six units in the front and several more in the rear of the building.
The apartment where the blaze took place was heavily damaged. The kitchen has extensive fire damage and adjoining rooms had heavy smoke, soot, and heat damage, including melted blinds.
The apartment “is not livable,” he said, and the Fire Division was working with the resident to find other living arrangements.
Other apartments in the building had moderate smoke damage. Moorman said it was up to residents to determine whether they would stay there.
An investigator was on the scene Tuesday night to try to determine the exact cause of the blaze. That’s routine, the fire chief said. The information gathered helps in future fire prevention efforts.
