Fire burns Detroit church, kills litter of Great Dane puppies

DETROIT (WJBK) - Two kids and two of their dogs were lucky to escape a church fire on Detroit's east side as the snow pummeled Detroit.

The fire inside the rectory at Provisions of Faith church on Detroit's East side gutted the old church and started near the baseboards where a litter of puppies was asleep. 

While the kids and two older dogs got out safely, the litter did not.

Joshua Wilson, 11, woke up and saw the smoke. 

"When I got up all I seen was smoke in the hallways," he said. "I walked down the hall to tell my sister that there was fire."
 
Joshua and his 17-year-old sister were home alone early Thursday morning. When they got out, they got their mom, Angela Wilson.
 
The family lived in the rectory of the church off McNichols near Gunston Avenue where Wilson is the bishop. She was in Chicago getting ready to have surgery Thursday morning when she got the call the church she bought less than three months ago was on fire. 

"They called and told me to brace myself that there was a fire," she said. "We got a lot of repair a lot of money in damages here."
 
They share their home with Great Danes and a cat. There was also a litter of 8 Great Dane pups at just 8-weeks. They did not make it out alive.

Bishop Wilson believes the fire started in the wiring of the baseboards where the puppies were sleeping. She said the kids are devastated.

"They are just heartbroken. When she called me on the phone to tell me, she says mom we lost the puppies. They have been crying all morning," Wilson said.

The family says the dogs are a great presence and keep burglars at bay. At least a couple of the puppies who died would have been the next generation to keep the place of worship safe.
 
Wilson said they were hoping to open the church to the public in just a couple of weeks.