By Mandilee Hecht
mhecht@cherryroad.com

A call for a fire at a local motel was received by the Standish Area Fire Authority at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

Stations 12 and 13 of the Standish Area Fire Authority responded to a fire in room 5 of the Town Inn Motel in Standish, located at 304 N. Main St.

Mitch Oliver, Fire Chief of the Standish Area Fire Authority, stated the fire was restricted to the one room. Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames in under 15 minutes, with an additional hour or so to ensure everything was extinguished.

There was one fatality: a woman died in the fire. The incident was turned over to the Arenac County Sheriff’s Department and the state fire marshal, according to Oliver.

“This is the first fatality we have had in a while,” Oliver said.

The Independent is awaiting clarification from investigators regarding the cause of the fire, the identify of the deceased, and any other information currently available to the public.

Oliver stated the motel fire was the department’s fifth call since Jan. 1. As of Friday, Jan. 10, the department had received seven calls.