A Thursday morning fire at the corner of Spruce and Main streets in Jackman destroyed a home, displacing the tenant who lived there, but firefighters saved a nearby restaurant where the tenant worked for his grandmother.
The wind Thursday made fighting a fire that destroyed a Jackman home difficult. The tenant living in the home was working in the restaurant in front of the home, but discovered the fire too late.
The Jackman-Moose River Fire and Rescue department responded to the call at 10:36 a.m. Four other fire departments assisted, including Bingham, West Forks, Rockwood and Solon.
The cause of the fire is unknown, according to Chief Bill Jarvis. The chief said the owner of the home, restaurant owner Sue Millspaugh, was working at Mama Bears Restaurant in front of the home when the fire began. The home was occupied by her grandson, Clay Hoyt.
Jarvis said that Hoyt was working at the restaurant when the fire began. He noticed the fire when he walked out the back door of the restaurant and saw heavy, black smoke coming from inside the home. He called for help.
Jarvis said that by the time the tenant discovered the fire, the smoke coming out of the house was obscuring the restaurant in front of it.
When fire crews arrived, Jarvis said, dense smoke filled the area and heavy fire was consuming more than half of the single-story home on one side. With the home ravaged by fire, firefighters turned their attention to saving the restaurant and nearby structures.
At the time of the call, the outside temperature was minus 4 degrees with wind gusts of up to 25 miles per hour, Jarvis said.
Mama Bears Restaurant was not damaged in the fire and remains open.
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