A stubborn blaze tore through a Sto-Away Storage building in Rochester, Michigan, burning for more than nine hours as firefighters worked to contain it. By the time the smoke cleared, all 80 units inside the structure were a total loss.
The building’s metal construction made the job significantly harder, according to the assistant chief, who said the heat trapped inside the structure kept reigniting hotspots. While only one building was affected, crews said the impact on tenants has been painful to watch as people arrived throughout the day to find their belongings soaked, scorched, or reduced to ash.
Several renters shared their losses with Michigan news outlet FOX 2. One business owner estimated she had $30,000 worth of equipment and merchandise inside her unit. Others described seeing once-organized contents dumped in soggy piles outside, ruined by fire, smoke, and water.
New mother Rachel Stanko said she had hoped her unit, located toward the back of the building, might have escaped the worst. Instead, she found everything obliterated.
“I was working on opening a small business, so I had a large checkout desk, a big display square, and everything I use during the spring selling season,” she said. “I didn’t have insurance on it. I wasn’t planning to have it there that long — we needed to make room for our new baby. I’m not sure how we really recover from this.”
Another tenant, Kerrie Beckwith, said nothing in her unit survived. “I know there’s nothing left. With the smoke and the water… there’s no recovering that. You just have to start over,” she said. “There were so many things in there that meant the world to me — my mom’s diamond earrings...”
Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause of the blaze.
Sto-Away announced online that its office will remain closed until officials determine it’s safe for tenants to enter the property. The company said it is coordinating with its insurance provider and will share updates as soon as possible.