Morning apartment fire leaves 2 injured on Detroit's west side
Detroit apartment fire leaves residents displaced on city's west side
One man used a bedsheet as a makeshift rope and jumped from the burning building. He was hospitalized with leg injuries. Another man was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A two-alarm fire on Detroit’s west side broke out after 7:30 a.m. and left dozens of residents displaced.
The backstory:
The fire happened at approximately 7:43 a.m. and fire crews arrived in less than five minutes to the structure, located at Cicotte and Michigan Avenue.
Residents described a chaotic scene as firefighters rescued several people using ladders to bring them out of the building.
One man used a bedsheet as a makeshift rope and jumped from the burning building. He was hospitalized with leg injuries. Another man was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
In total, 24 occupied units were evacuated.
Fire investigators are praising the first responders.
"Well, I’ll credit the men and women of the Detroit Fire Department for that," said Senior Chief Leo Spitzig, Detroit Fire Department. "They got here quick and did what they were supposed to do. In fact, did quite a few rescues. It was an excellent job and an okay end to a bad situation."
Charita Hamilton was one of the residents.
"I looked out my window on the third floor and noticed someone was screaming, ‘They can’t get out, they can’t get out,’" Hamilton said. "And I called my husband, I asked him to go in the room and check things out.
"He went out into the hallway, and the hallway was full of smoke."
Resident Willie Davis described the scene.
"It was very scary, there was smoke, we couldn’t see," he said. "When we came out. The fire was right above us, because we came out the front door."
The Red Cross responded to the scene, and the City of Detroit has set up a temporary shelter for displaced residents.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Fire Department is working to determine the cause of the fire. Investigators say the blaze does not appear to be suspicious.
The Source: Information for this report is from interviews with residents and Detroit Fire officials.