Tenants lose everything after Glen Arbor apartment house catches fire
By Cameryn Cass
Sun contributor
Early in the morning on Monday, June 1, an apartment house caught fire in downtown Glen Arbor.
The Glen Lake Fire Department was dispatched to 6002 S. Oak Street at 2:05 a.m., said Nate Perdue, lieutenant at the department and incident commander at the scene.
“We had the fire out around 8 a.m. and kept a truck at the scene to monitor conditions until noon,” he said. “It was a total loss.”
No tenants or firefighters were injured during the blaze, and no other property was impacted.
Perdue said the team pulled water from the Crystal River to subdue the flames, which is standard procedure in a town with “no actual fire hydrants.”
At first, there was a problem pulling water from the river—something Perdue attributed to “equipment malfunction”—but it was fixed and otherwise worked well.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and under investigation, which could take upwards of a month to complete since insurance and private investigators will get involved.
Mara Miller and the Semple family, the two tenants impacted by the fire, are staying with family and friends in the area for the meantime.
“I’ve lived there since 2015,” said Miller. “I just have what’s in my car, my purse. I didn’t even grab my phone.”
She said that people keep asking if she’s okay and what they can do to help, but she’s not quite sure what she needs yet.
“Right now, I’m just trying to figure out a long-term solution,” said Miller. “The worst part is, where do you go? It’s not like we can just go out and buy a home; the median house price in Leelanau County right now is $700,000.”
Both Miller and the Semple family have active GoFundMe campaigns online to help rebuild after the loss.
Miller has been an active member in the community for many decades, from singing in the Leelanau Community Choir to working at and managing the Leelanau Coffee Roasting Company. The Semples are a young family with children, and Robb Semple has done quality contracting work in the area for some time now.
As far as fire safety goes, Perdue underscored how the area is in a “significant” burn ban.
“I know it looks green, but all the foliage on the ground and the loose leaves under the trees are all very dry,” he said.
If you’d like to help Miller and the Semple family, visit their respective GoFundMe campaigns:
