Apartment Building, Residential Lansing, MI – Fire extinguished by sprinkler system at new apartment building February 21, 2015 viking210 A tenant moving in to a new apartment building near downtown Lansing accidentally started a small fire that left 11 units uninhabitable due to water damage, Lansing firefighters said. The fire at Marketplace, on Cedar Street near the Lansing City Market, started in a fifth-floor unit between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Friday, said Steve Mazurek, a public information officer for the city’s fire department. The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire, which started on a stovetop that was turned on by accident and sparked a box or other material that had been placed there, Mazurek said. The fire was contained to a single unit, whose tenant had moved in the same day, he said. Firefighters were called because water from the sprinkler system caused damage to surrounding and lower units, Mazurek said. No one was injured. Eleven of 79 units can’t be occupied until they’re repaired. The $8.5 million Marketplace building opened last fall. It is owned by Lansing developer Pat Gillespie. Gillespie could not immediately be reached by phone. His company, Gillespie Group, posted a message on its Facebook page this morning, saying a restoration company will be on site throughout the weekend to repair damaged units. Office staff are available to answer residents’ questions, the company said.
