Fire guts nearly 100-year-old home in Grosse Pointe City

GROSSE POINTE CITY — “That fire seems to have a life of its own.”

That was an observation from Grosse Pointe City resident Michele Ullery who, like many in the community, watched in horror as a raging blaze tore through a home in the 400 block of Lincoln Road the evening of June 3.

As public safety officers from Grosse Pointe City, Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe Park poured untold gallons of water onto the house to save it, the fire seemed to have other plans, with flames shooting out of the roof in spite of the torrents coming from fire hoses.

The family who lived there wept and embraced as their home — and all the precious memories and irreplaceable mementos inside — were destroyed.

The home was occupied by Heidi Brandt, a widow, and her three children. At press time, a GoFundMe page had been established to help the family and their pets. The page is called The Brandt Family Fire Relief and has a goal of raising $100,000 for the family.

Thick gray smoke plumed from the collapsing roof. Each breeze sent a wave of hot air and acrid smoke billowing in the direction of the dozens of nearby residents who gathered across the street to see what was happening.

The Brandt family had been out at the time it began. Neighbors said the family was able to safely rescue their two dogs from the home, and Ullery said she saw a firefighter carry a black cat outside to safety, but the fate of two other cats — both of whom were believed to have been on the second floor — was unknown at press time.

Ullery said an observant neighbor smelled smoke and called 911. Public safety was called to the scene at around 7 p.m. June 3.

Grosse Pointe City Public Safety Sgt. Christopher Cotzias, the incident commander, said the fire appeared to have started in the attic, although the cause was unknown at press time.

“The family was out when we arrived,” Cotzias said.

Cotzias said officers attempted to make an interior attack on the fire, but the plaster ceilings started falling on them, forcing them to fight the fire from outside. He said they also tried to ventilate the roof, but then the roof began to give as well.

According to the website Zillow.com, the home was built in 1927.

While it wasn’t known how much damage the first floor of the home sustained, flames were visible from a first-floor window as of roughly 9 p.m. June 3, suggesting the fire had spread to the first floor.

Even after 10 p.m. June 3, the fire still seemed to be raging.

Donations for the Brandt family can be made by visiting the GoFundMe page established for them, gofundme.com/f/the-brandt-family-fire-relief. Anyone with information about additional efforts to aid the family should email that information to kmoran@candgnews.com.