UPDATE 1/24: The Ann Arbor Fire Department (AAFD) has determined the fire began in the kitchen ventilation system of Madras Masala, according to an AAFD Facebook post Monday morning.

The Ann Arbor Fire Department (AAFD) responded to an early-morning fire on Maynard Street on Friday. Jeffrey Shafer, Ann Arbor Police Department sergeant, told The Michigan Daily, the department received the 911 call at 6:48 a.m., triggering an emergency response. The fire occurred on commercial property a block from the University of Michigan’s Central Campus. The building, which was completely destroyed by the blaze, housed two local businesses — Madras Masala Indian restaurant and Vape City smoke shop. 

AAFD chief Mike Kennedy was responding to the fire Friday afternoon. He told The Daily the fire was noticed by a passerby and no one was inside the building at the time the fire started. Kennedy said there were no casualties or injuries to either civilians or first responders. He said the fire department still does not know exactly where or how the fire started, though he said the extent of the damage would likely result in the entire property being demolished. 

“We’ve been here since 7 (a.m.) — the roof has collapsed and so that’s what we’re dealing with now,” Kennedy said. “We’re tearing up the street to shut off the gas lines and then once the gas line shuts off we’re going to bring in an excavator and start tearing the building apart for hotspots.”  

Kennedy said the fire department initially had to delay their investigation of the fire because the department was concerned about flammable materials, such as e-cigarette batteries, inside Vape City. 

“The vape shop has a lot of highly combustible material in it,” Kennedy said. “There was an incident in L.A. two years ago where six firefighters were critically injured, so we backed out and went on the defensive.”

Kennedy said the origin and cause of the fire will be difficult to determine, but the department had a fire investigator on the scene as of Friday afternoon. He said AAFD is thankful for the assistance the Department received from surrounding communities in responding to the fire.

“We really appreciate all the other surrounding departments here helping,” Kennedy said. 

AAPD also responded to assist with traffic control and helped clear the surrounding buildings. Crews from Huron Valley Ambulance and the volunteer incident support team HART Huron Valley were also on the scene to support firefighters. AAFD got the blaze under control by midday, but firefighters were still on Maynard St. to ensure that the damage remained under control.

Managing News Editor Roni Kane and Daily Staff Reporter George Weykamp contributed to the reporting of this article. 

Daily Staff Reporter Levi Herron can be reached at llherron@umich.edu.