By Charles E. Ramirez
The Detroit News
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — A dozen people, including four police officers, were taken to a hospital after a fire ravaged a Farmington Hills home early Tuesday, officials said.
Jon Unruh, the city’s fire chief, said that of the eight people inside the home during the fire, three are in serious condition and five are in good condition. All eight suffered from smoke inhalation, but none were burned, he said.
He added the victims are all related and range in age from 5 months to 27 years old. The chief said all of those in serious condition are adults. Two are men and one is a woman, he said.
He also said one police officer is in temporary serious condition and three are in good condition. Unruh made the remarks during a media briefing early Tuesday near the scene of the fire.
Farmington Hills firefighters were called at about 5 a.m. to the single-family home on 10 Mile Road near Middlebelt for a report of a fire, the chief said.
He said police officers and firefighters arrived to find heavy fire and smoke coming from the home.
“Police officers received information from people on the scene that there were people trapped inside the home,” Unruh said. “Four officers made entry into the home and made several rescues. They made a very heroic rescue.”
The victims were found unconscious in bedrooms in the home, he said.
In addition, firefighters also rescued two cats from the home, officials said.
Unruh said the cause of the fire is under investigation and officials believe it started in one of the bedrooms.
He also said firefighters determined the home did not have working smoke alarms.
“I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have working smoke alarms in the home,” Unruh said.
Twenty-three firefighters from all five of Farmington Hills’ fire stations arrived at the scene minutes after dispatchers received a 911 call and quickly extinguished the fire, the chief said.
“The house is a total loss,” Unruh said.
The incident follows other blazes across the region.
On Monday, a fire and explosion at an apartment building on Detroit’s west side displaced multiple families and at least 13 people were injured.
Last week, an elderly man died after a fire on Detroit’s east side.
Also in March, a small explosion rocked a home in Garden City and set it on fire, but no injuries or fatalities were reported.
In February, a 12-year-old boy and his two teenage siblings died in a fire at a West Bloomfield Township home.
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