Man killed after being trapped inside burning Lathrup Village home
LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man died in a house fire early Wednesday in Lathrup Village.
Southfield Fire Chief Johnny Menifee said a neighbor called 911 to report the fire around 2:45 a.m. Firefighters learned that someone was trapped inside the house on Lacrosse Avenue near Bloomfield, and found the victim once they made their way into the home.
"This fire had a tremendous head start on us, it was fully engulfed when we arrived on scene," Menifee said. "Time is always our friend, and unfortunately in this fire, we didn’t have a lot of time."
The house was full of objects that made it more difficult to enter and rescue the man, the chief added.
Neighbors who knew the victim said he was a quirky guy, and a father who had lived on Lacrosse Avenue for a long time.
"It makes me want to cry… We weren’t even friends, but it’s just awful for anyone to lose their life that way," said Phyllis Samuels, who lives across the street from the victim. "Just a terrible ending to one’s life."
Now that the flames are out, investigators will be working to determine what led to the fire.
