Tresa Baldas

Detroit Free Press

As investigators try to determine the cause of a devastating weekend fire at Boyne Highlands ski lodge, one lead they are following is that a guest set fire to his room and then stole the extinguishers before fleeing the northern Michigan resort, police confirmed Monday.

The middle-of-the-night blaze injured a dozen people, including a 23-year-old Traverse City man who is fighting for his life after getting trapped inside his room and a guest who jumped from her balcony.

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The arson allegation surfaced in a taped recording of police scanner activity in Emmet County in which a dispatcher was heard stating at least four times that someone set fire to a room at the lodge and then left with the extinguishers.

Emmet County Sheriff Pete Wallin told the Free Press on Monday that he saw that allegation in the dispatch notes and that his office is looking into it.

"I have not heard the tape, but I did see it in the dispatch notes ... and obviously, my detectives will see if they can locate that individual," Wallin said. He noted that police are trying to track down all 113 guests who were staying at the ski lodge.

Wallin stressed that a cause for the fire remains unknown and that no one is in custody. The incident is under investigation by the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office, Harbor Springs Fire Department, and the Michigan State Police Fire Marshal Division.

"My guys are following up on multiple leads. There were 113 guests. They're going to have to be talked to," Wallin said. "There's a lot of footwork to do."

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The investigation revolves around a fire that broke out at 1:34 a.m. Sunday on the third floor of the main lodge at Boyne Highlands, a popular Harbor Springs ski resort. The fire damaged about 40% of the resort's main lodge hotel and injured 12 people, including David Chauvette, who suffered severe smoke inhalation after getting trapped inside his room.

"When I first got there, there were 17 people unaccounted for. He happened to be one of them," Wallin said of Chauvette, noting Chauvette was eventually found and taken to a local hospital. He was eventually transported to Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, where as of 6 p.m. Monday, he was listed in critical condition.

News of Chauvette's ordeal quickly surfaced on Facebook, where many friends flooded the social networking site with words of support.

"If everyone could pray for David Chauvette his family and friends would really appreciate it," wrote Facebook user Brandon Mattarella. "David was caught late last night trapped in a fire at Boyne Highlands resort and inhaled a large amount of smoke. He is currently in ICU in critical condition and soon is being transferred to Grand Rapids. He's not currently breathing on his own so please please please : everyone pray for him. I love you buddy, I know you got it in you, come back to us, we're all here."

Kedna Lynn wrote: "Keep fighting babe. You can do this. Best 10 months of my life have been with you. Keep pushing through."

Haley Lamson wrote: "I hope you get better soon. I'm praying for you and your family. You're a strong guy you will get through this!!!!!! I'm sorry you're going through this"

The fire broke out during what was Boyne's third weekend of the ski season.

Boyne Highlands general manager Mike Chumbler said staff went door to door to ensure that guests had been alerted. They were moved to lodging elsewhere at the resort.

"Our first concern remains with those injured," Chumbler said. "We will continue to do whatever we can to support them."

Despite the fire, Boyne Highlands plans to reopen for skiing at 9 a.m. Friday as the slopes and other parts of the resort were not affected by the fire.

According to Chumbler, Boyne Highlands has started contacting guests with future hotel reservations in order to discuss lodging options. He also said that many parts of the structure were undamaged and will be reopened after cleanup.

Boyne Highlands has more than 400 units on the property with a total of 148 guests rooms in the main lodge.

According to a recording of the scanner activity, which the Free Press listened to, here are some of the comments made by dispatchers that night:

"Station 43, please respond to Boyne Highlands ... someone set a fire and then took the fire extinguishers."

"Per security and first caller, (someone) set the fire, took off ... with the extinguisher so nobody could put it out."

"Station 43 ... There is a subject that set a fire in the room and then took off with the extinguisher."

The scanner feed from Emmet County was provided by Fred Moses, a computer technician from Fenton who runs a website and Facebook page that archives and tracks scanner traffic from across the state. Anytime there’s a large incident, he said, he posts it to his Facebook page, Moses.bz. He also has family in northern Michigan, he said, noting his family ties keep him interested in police and fire scanner traffic Up North.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @Tbaldas.