Blaze Leaves Dozens Homeless After Neighbor Grills On Wooden Apartment Balcony
INKSTER (WWJ) - Dozens of people were burned out of their homes in Inkster after their neighbor decided to fire up the grill on a wooden balcony.
Fire broke out just before 2 a.m. Thursday at the three-story, 12-unit Dartmouth Square Apartments in the 26000 block of Dartmouth, near Beech Daly Road and Annapolis Street.
Apartment Manager Sonia Manners told WWJ's Ron Dewey the fire started after one of the tenants broke a rule.
"It's my understand that one of the units barbecued earlier in the day. She said this evening, someone came knocking on her door, stating that the balcony was on fire," Manners said.
Charcoal in the woman's grill apparently rekindled overnight and flames eventually spread throughout the building before firefighters responded and extinguished the blaze.
Manners said the building was evacuated and no one appears to have been injured. She said the American Red Cross is helping displaced families find temporary shelter.
"Because it is a low-income housing community, we do encourage individuals to get renter's insurance, but not all of the time do they do that. So now we have displaced families with no insurance and no place to go. That does make me feel not so good," she said.
An investigation is ongoing.
