1 dead, 4 injured after Detroit home catches fire Friday morning
DETROIT - One person is dead and several other people are hospitalized after a fire in a home near I-94 on the city's east side.
1 dead, 4 others injured in space heater fire on Detroit’s east side
Initially it was reported that it was a group home but Rhodes' family members tell FOX 2 that victim Jermaine Rhodes paid rent for a room at the house on Burns Street where three brothers, Raynard, Bernard and Leonard Kimbrough and their uncle Kenneth Boswell lived.
By noon, people were traveling to a home on Burns Avenue to board up open portions of the structure. But hours prior, flames were tearing through the home.
The fire started early Friday morning when fire crews were called to 6139 Burns Avenue, just south of the Edsel Ford Freeway.
Deputy Commissioner Dave Fornell with the Detroit Fire Department said they found evidence of space heaters that likely started the fire.
The victim who died was 46-year-old Jermaine Rhodes.
"I just talked with them yesterday," said Jamil Rhodes, his brother. "I just got the news this morning and I was devastated."
"My brother was trapped in there, he couldn't get out," said Saheida Rhodes-Currie, his sister. "He tried to make his way out and got caught downstairs in the smoke and the flames."
"We had a heavy fire on first floor going into the second floor, there were occupants trapped," said Fornell.
Initially it was reported that it was a group home but Rhodes' family members tell FOX 2 that he paid rent for a room at the house on Burns Street where three brothers, Raynard, Bernard and Leonard Kimbrough and their uncle Kenneth Boswell lived.
Investigators say all four are recovering at a hospital after suffering smoke inhalation and burns.
"They were using a lot of space heaters in there and we believe it was an overloaded electrical circuit that possibly could have caused this fire," Fornell said.
Fire officials say there are dos and don'ts to using space heaters
"Don't put extension cords together, make sure if you are using a heater that it is plugged directly into a wall outlet," Fornell said.
The Detroit Fire Department says one person is dead and four injured after a house fire at a group home on Burns Avenue. Officials suspect that space heaters overloaded an electrical circuit.
Officials advise that keeping the heat on is essential during winter, especially during extreme cold bouts like this week. However, plugging space heaters in power strips and extension cords is not advised and is a fire hazard.
Instead, they should be plugged straight into the wall.