Fire at Southfield condos kills 1, injures 3

SOUTHFIELD — A 70-year-old woman died in a condo fire the afternoon of Nov. 4.

The Southfield Fire Department received a call at 2:13 p.m. Nov. 4 that a fire had broken out at Le Chateau Condominiums, in the 25000 block of Southfield Road. At this time it is unknown what caused the fire, and the Southfield Fire Department is still investigating.

Firefighters arrived at the scene by 2:19 p.m. to find white smoke and to discover that the fire had already self-vented from the rear of the building. Firefighters initiated an offensive attack on the fire as a search was conducted to evacuate the building.

“Fire conditions changed on us really fast, and we went to a defensive operation. We called for a second alarm. We had mutual aid from our OAKWAY mutual aid members. We had  Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Madison Heights and Royal Oak,” Southfield Fire Chief Johnny Menifee said. He added that the Southfield Fire Department also received help from Star EMS, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and the city’s emergency manager, building and water departments, as well as the Southfield Police Department and the Lathrup Village Police Department.

“Initially, we had a report of three injuries,” Menifee said. “Two were treated at the scene and released. The other patient was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. As the event continued, we found out that there was one person unaccounted for, and tragically, we report that a 70-year-old female did expire in the fire.”

It took until around 8 p.m. to put the fire out. Menifee said that the 17 units, with a garage in the basement, are considered a complete loss at this time.

Menifee expressed his gratitude for everyone who responded to the fire. “It’s a great thing to have in any chief’s back pocket, the relationship with OAKWAY that we have. So OAKWAY has 11 departments that operate all the same way. The chiefs meet every month, the training officers meet every month, the EMS coordinators meet every month and now we’re getting the fire marshals to meet every month. But we operate the same way. We train together. We do a lot of collaboration, and we’re here to lend a hand to a department when a situation taxes all their resources. We’ve had this pact for a very long time. I think OAKWAY has been around since the 1950s, and it’s been a really good thing that we have.”

Menifee emphasized the importance of working smoke detectors, explaining that the state of Michigan has reported 78 fire-related deaths and 75 fires as of Nov. 1, with 49% of them not having working smoke detectors.

“I think that this is very unique. I mean, it’s two o’clock in the afternoon, and normally, a fire of this magnitude, we get multiple, multiple calls, and we didn’t see that on this cause. This fire presented itself very differently than what we are used to with a fire of this intensity and magnitude. Like I said, this fire changed very quickly and rapidly. The conditions changed for us. But I think it’s a good reminder with this, because of how fast the conditions and things change, how important it is to have a working smoke detector in your home. It’s very important,” he said.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the family of the lost victim, as well as the other homeowners there that lost pretty much everything in their units. I’m working with a group now and trying to set up a fundraiser for them. Right now, we continue to try to assist the other homeowners that are trying to get some of their belongings — anything that’s salvageable out of their apartments, as well as the cars that are in the basement garage. So we’re doing our due diligence to try to bring some type of order to this very, very sad day.”

For more information on fire safety, visit www.cityofsouthfield.com/fire-safety.