Watch CBS News

Residents 'Saved' From Heatless, Sewage-Covered Apartment Building In Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - A frigid night was made warmer for residents in southwest Detroit after their apartment building was deemed condemned.

Fire officials on Tuesday removed about two dozen families from the building on West Grand Boulevard, between I-96 and I-94. Fire Captain Chris Dixon said everything went south after the building's furnace went out.

"The owner went out and purchased a whole bunch of space heaters, which that's not safe. So, everyone in here is using space heaters, trying to keep their house warm and that's a fire hazard," he said.

After receiving word about the space heaters, crews responded to the building where they discovered even more problems.

"The heat's not working in the building and they have raw sewage in the basement," Dixon said. "They also have some other issues like water leaking into the electrical rooms. So, we just had to have the people evacuated to a safe area."

Although the landlord said the building has only been out of heat for a few days, residents told reporters they have been living in the unsafe conditions for over a month.

A DDOT bus was called to the scene to transport the families. Reports say they will be given free housing until their apartment building is back up to code.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.