Government/Military Muskegon, MI – Sprinkler system prevents spread of fire at city maintenance garage March 28, 2015 viking210 A Muskegon Police Department cruiser was destroyed in a fire inside the city’s Department of Public Works garage Wednesday afternoon, March 25. An automatic sprinkler system quickly suppressed the fire, stopping it from spreading and preventing major damage to the building and other vehicles. Muskegon Fire Department firefighters, arriving on the scene, finished the job of extinguishing the blaze. No one was hurt because no one was in the building at the time – employees were in a staff meeting off site, according to Muskegon Fire Marshal Major Metcalf. The fire was reported shortly after 1 p.m. Fire and police officials late Wednesday were still investigating, but the cause may have been electrical problems with the cruiser that burned, Metcalf said. The car was at the DPW building for maintenance, and mechanics told fire investigators that one reported problem was with the electrical system, Metcalf said. Besides the ruined cruiser, there was minor smoke and water damage inside the building and smoke stains on the outside of other vehicles, including two police cruisers and a fire engine, Metcalf said. “We didn’t find any major damage to any work areas,” he said. “The one thing I was impressed with, the sprinkler system in the DPW was operational, in service, and it did prevent the fire from growing out of control,” the fire marshal said. “I was very pleased about that. Our firefighters arrived on the scene and fully extinguished it.”
