Detroit Firefighters Keep Busy On Freezing Cold Day

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit firefighters were kept busy this morning, on one of the coldest days of the year so far. On the city's east side, crews were battling a fire at a single-family home on Grixdale and Orleans.

The home's resident, John Kirkland, managed to escape the flames, along with his dog. Kirkland told WWJ's Mike Campbell he was happy he and his dog were able to get out of the house, but he wondered where they would go now.

He says he knows he has to fix the house, but with temperatures only reaching into the upper teens, he says it's just too cold to have to do that right now.

Campbell also traveled to another east side Detroit neighborhood around Newport and East Forest, where firefighters were battling flames at a vacant apt. building. Campbell says crews had a bit of a problem bringing the fire under control because when they hooked up their hoses to the hydrant, the hydrant broke the main, causing water to pour out onto Newport Street.

As a result, they had to stretch a hose from the next block over to one pump truck, and then pump the water down to another truck so they could extinguish the fire.

There have been no reports of injuries from either fire.