Fire destroys apartments, kills 1, more than a dozen displaced
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Carrollton Township, Michigan (WNEM) — A local apartment complex is a complete loss after an overnight fire claimed the life of one man and left roughly a dozen residents displaced.
The fire spread quickly at the Bauer Drive Apartments, trapping some residents on their balconies until firefighters could get them down safely.
“It’s just a shame. Our hearts go out to you and yeah I mean it’s not good news,” said Carrollton Township Police Chief Craig Oatten.
Oatten says flames broke out just after 11 Sunday night. Investigators say the fire started in apartment six.
“They have sliding glass doors out on the small balconies and fire had even engulfed the balcony in flames,” he said.
Oatten says once fire crews knocked down the flames, they found the man inside apartment six. The building is a total loss. Crews spent the day tearing down what was left of the structure.
“14 other people lived in the complex. It’s a twelve-unit apartment complex. Some of them sought some medical treatment at the hospital and right now the Red Cross is assisting them with housing and donations for any needs they may have,” he said.
Oatten tells us there were eight people in the building when the fire started. And given the speed at which flames tore through the building, he says he’s glad the human toll wasn’t worse.
“For that time of night sometimes people are already sleeping. The fire department did have to rescue a few people off of balconies and we’re just thankful there wasn’t more serious injuries with that type of fire,” he said.
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