9 & 10 News February 19, 2021 Firefighters battled freezing temperatures, heavy snow and heavy smoke during an early morning fire in Missaukee County Friday. The Merritt Area Fire Department was called to a large fire at Phil’s Towing facility on East Houghton Lake Road in Aetna Township. Crews say a pile of used scrap automobile parts was on fire. The towing company used heavy equipment to break the pile apart so fire crews could put the fire out before it spread. The cause of the fire is not believed to be suspicious and there were no injuries. This is the second fire in less than a week where crews had to work in cold weather conditions.