Fire Destroys Several Mich. Businesses

A fire late Tuesday afternoon destroyed at least two Shepherd businesses. Sometime after 4:30 p.m., flames were reported at the Grim Printing Co., 213 W. Wright Ave., in Shepherd. No injuries were reported.

Along with the printing company, which prints the weekly Shepherd Argus newspaper, the Laundry Corner laundromat and a vacant store were destroyed by the fire. A basket weaving business and apartments were damaged in the fire.

“It was a long day,” said a tired Jerry Wieferich, a lieutenant with Station Three of the Shepherd Tri-Township Fire Department. Wieferich also works as a firefighter for the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Fire Department, which assisted at the scene. Crews from fire departments in Alma, Mount Pleasant, St. Louis and Freemont also assisted in battling the blaze.

Wieferich said a driver called 911 Tuesday afternoon and told the dispatcher “something didn’t seem right” with one of the buildings.

“Right after that, a firefighter who lives in the area drove by and saw the fire and called it in,” he said.

Wieferich said the extent of the damage is still being determined, but crews were able to stop the fire before it reached a doctor’s office in the same row of buildings.

“We had to remove the second story roof of the laundromat,” he said. “Some apartments in the building received some fire damage. A lady had just moved in to the apartments, but fortunately she said she had renters insurance.”

Wieferich said fire crews worked at the scene until after 1 a.m. Wednesday.

The cause of the fire, along with an estimate of the total damage, is not known at this time.

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