GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — No one was injured after a historic Heritage Hill manor converted into apartments caught fire Thursday evening.
The Grand Rapids Fire Department responded to reports of flames coming from the third floor of the large estate at the corner of Cherry and Morris. It wasn't immediately clear how the fire started, but firefighters could be seen on the roof working.
GRFD said three units of the 21-unit building were impacted.
GRFD Battalion Chief Ed Braman said the fire crew's familiarity of working with historic buildings helped them attack the fire at the source and keep it from spreading.
"These old houses are built strong and built to last. That's why they're still here. But they got dimensional lumber inside, lot of lath and plaster, but they also have void spaces that we know how to work," Braman said. "And that's one of the things about working in the city here, is we learn our buildings and we know how we can survive in them and working them a little bit longer or not."
A cat was rescued from the home and given oxygen, according to officials, and they say the cat seems to be doing well.
Investigators are still working to figure out how the fire started.
The property is known as the Morris Historical home. The Gilbert Brothers built the Italianate-style Cherry Street house in 1858 before it was later bought by Robert Morris.
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