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2-year-old girl killed in Monroe Township mobile home fire

By and Amber Ainsworth
Published  May 15, 2023 10:19pm EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 2 Detroit

2-year-old killed in Monroe County fire

A fire at a Monroe County mobile home killed a 2-year-old girl Monday. Everyone else safely made it out, but the flames prevented the girl's father and first responders from getting to her.

MONROE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - Flames separated a father from his 2-year-old daughter Monday, preventing him from getting to her when the family's Monroe Township mobile home caught fire.

Two adults and six children ranging in age from infants to 12 live at the home in Willow Green. The father smelled smoke around 1 p.m. and opened the door to the front bedroom, where his young daughter was. 

"Got his infant out, and the rest of the kids out. I don’t know if he made another attempt or not, but then our guys were showing up," said Monroe Township Fire Chief Mark Cherney. "Two of my guys who live really close to the mobile home park got there within a minute or two. They geared up and tried to make entry the whole house was on fire."

The township's fire department is a paid volunteer force.

The firefighters who arrived first could see the girl but could not get to her.

"From what we could tell the child was already passed," Cherney said. "One of my guys who has a 2-year-old daughter, he is taking it kinda rough. We did a little bit of debriefing afterwards, and we are going to have some more counseling."

Investigators believe the fire was accidental. The investigation is ongoing.

Managers at the mobile home park said they are turning the office into a donation center. Donations for the family can be dropped off at the office at 2033 N. Outer Dr.