AARON AUPPERLEE
Citizen Patriot
Reprinted with Permission

Firefighters injured Saturday while battling a blaze in downtown Leslie have been treated and released from a Lansing hospital.


As of Monday, all the firefighters had returned to work, said Leslie City Manager Brian Reed.

“Every firefighter is all right. The injuries were very minor,” Reed said.

Three buildings on Main Street in downtown Leslie have been condemned and will be demolished, Reed said.

Just before 7 a.m. Saturday, Moo’s Bar & Grill, 147 S. Main St., caught fire. Eight fire departments responded. While fighting the fire, five firefighters were trapped when the roof and second floor of the building collapsed. Several firefighters had been on the roof when the structure collapsed, according to earlier reports.

The trapped firefighters issued “mayday” calls about 9:18 a.m. and were freed within 10 to 15 minutes. Seven firefighters were injured in the collapse and rescue. Two were treated for smoke inhalation, and one fell on ice that formed around the building.

Three firefighters from the Leslie Fire Department, three from the Onondaga Township Fire Department, two from the Delhi Township Fire Department and two from the Dansville/Ingham Township Fire Department went to Sparrow Hospital.

A man living in the upstairs apartment escaped and went to the hospital for smoke inhalation. He also has been released, Reed said. Names of the injured have not been released.

Moo’s and the adjacent north and south buildings were condemned by city officials Monday, Reed said.

A few people lived in the upstairs apartment of the building to the north of Moo’s, Reed said. The first floor of the building was vacant. A hair salon occupied the first floor of the building to the south. One person lived in the upstairs apartment, Reed said.

The Mid-Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross did offer assistance to those displaced by the fire.

The fire remains under investigation by the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office. Reed did not yet know the fire’s cause or origin.

Reed said he was proud of the departments that responded.

“We owe all firefighters a debt of gratitude,” he said.