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Fire Totals Apartment Building Leaving More Than A Dozen Families Displaced

NORTHVILLE (WWJ) - More than a dozen families are displaced due to a fire at one of the 16-unit apartment buildings at Glens of Northville.

Residents of a 16-unit building were able to escape the flames safely but several pets died inside.

Novi Police Chief David Molloy says they are working to determine the cause of the fire that left the building uninhabitable.

Part of the building is completely destroyed, fire officials ordered fire fighters to get out after the roof and walls collapsed. Another portion of the building suffered smoke damage.

Vicky Saez was doing laundry when the alarm went off.

"I immediately dropped my clothes, went into my apartment and knocked on my son's door because he was in there sleeping - I said 'I think there is a fire or something' he went out the building before me. He was standing in front of the building saying 'Mom, hurry up, there's smoke.' I ran out after him and I seen the smoke and I seen the flames start at the far corner of the building," said Saez.

This is the second fire at Glens of Northville this year and that makes Shawn McCarthy uneasy: "I'm definitely concerned my lease is up this summer -- this is, this is too much. If it's an electrical fire like they said the last one was - we are all in danger because they haven't updated anybody's electrical wiring," she said.

"I was in my office ... and I just took my office stuff and that's it. At this moment I don't own anything except my car - I have a single pair of jeans and shorts," said Guarav, a resident at the apartments.

No cause has been determined.

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