Abandoned house catches fire next door, damaging Detroit family's home

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Just as a Detroit homeowner was making his house a home, a neighboring abandoned house erupted into flames causing collateral damage.

"The fire came through here and I had waterfalls on both sides of the mantle, and it burned them up," said Robert Daniel. "This whole thing was burnt out. I had to repair this whole entire wall."

And it didn’t come cheap.

"I probably spent about $2,500 and it was like borrowed money," he said.

Daniel is in the red, becoming a handyman, real quick.

"I did it myself, YouTube is kind of a savior," he said. "I had no other options."

"Three weeks earlier before FOX 2 visited Robert on Monday, the house next door to his, an abandoned house – started fire," he said.

Our cameras were rolling on the area, the city’s west side, near Grand River and Schaefer.

"My wife called me and said there was fire coming through the windows," he said.

Daniel's wife and their three kids got out – but the fire got in.

"When the fire department came in, obviously there's a lot of water damage," he said.

And smoke damage…and all of the windows gone and the roof, and gutters, so on.

Daniel can’t even make proper repairs – because the debris pile blocks his access.

"I can't let my family be exposed to the weather. it's getting cold," he said.

Daniel admits he had no homeowners insurance. But in this zip code, there’s a reason.

"The amount of money they wanted for house insurance was crazy," he said. "It was more than I paid for the house."

He kept up the lawn at the abandoned house and tried to keep intruders away. Investigators can’t say for sure the fire was arson.

"Years ago, there were squatters and like, animals, and so what I did was, I boarded it up myself," he said.

Seven years in the Littlefield house, two steps forward, one giant step back.

"With what money I did have, I moved in when it was really run down and I was working my way up," he said.

Robert Daniel isn’t looking for a hand out, he’s looking for a couple of extra hands to help with the repairs, and to maybe even borrow some tools.

If you can help, email him at robertbnd78@gmail.com