Man dies in Van Buren Township mobile home fire

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One dead in Van Buren Township mobile home fire

Neighbors said they thought it was a shootout, hearing billets go off in the fire.

Two people made it out of a Van Buren Township mobile home fire safely, but a third died in the blaze. 

"I thought it was a shoot-out, due to all the popping," Tyler, a neighbor to the house, said." 

Once he went outside, he realized it was a fire, and started recording video of the blaze. 

Tyler said it was "very hot," and "very scary.

A man who lived there with his caregiver and daughter died. The other two managed to escape just prior to 6:30 a.m.

"He was like a father figure to a lot of us growing up," Tyler said.

Van Buren Township Fire Chief David McInally said the victim wasn’t "very ambulatory" and had recently been released from a medical facility. 

McInally said that a large amount of ammunition caused delays in putting out the fire. 

The mobile home after the fire was put out.