Fire Guts East Side Detroit Home
A space heater may be to blame for a fire on Detroit's eastside that sent two people to St. John Hospital early Tuesday morning.
The fire started about 4:15 a.m. on Lakewood near Southampton street.
The owner of the home, Willie Ann Brown, returned to the home after hearing the story on WWJ and told reporter Vicki Thomas, "No, this is not a group home, let's get this understood, this is not a group home, this is my home. There was no caregiver missing in action, she (the caregiver) was not due until 8 a.m. this morning."
The mentally impaired man and woman, who are in their 60's, have non-life threatening injuries. Firefighters had to rescue a man from the basement. A woman was on the first floor. Apparently, the fire started on the second floor, which appears to be gutted and the roof looks like it's about ready to collapse.
The two people inside told firefighters their caregiver left the home to visit relatives.
A preliminary investigation points to a space heater as the cause of the fire. An arson squad is investigating.
Investigators couldn't say whether the home is licensed or if a caregiver was supposed to be present at the home.
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