All that’s left are a cinderblock foundation, a crumbling brick chimney and a wooden cross.
The house on Detroit’s east side was the first to go up in flames in what turned out to be a vicious Wednesday morning for the city’s fatigued, overstretched firefighters.
Just minutes after arriving to the blaze at the corner of Milton and Van Dyke, firefighters spotted another house on fire a block away.
A neighbor reported seeing a man in his 20s, wearing black pants and a red shirt, running from the scene.
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“We have another dwelling going,” a firefighter radioed to dispatchers.
More than 20 minutes passed before additional firefighters rolled up to the second fire on the 7100 block of Milton. By then, flames had spread to two more vacant houses, and firefighters couldn’t get enough water pressure from the hydrants.
Ladder 23, the city’s busiest fire truck, broke down at the scene on Milton and Van Dyke.
At 4:10 a.m., firefighters were called to a house fire at Grand River and Kentucky on the west side. Ladder 21 broke down along the side of the road.
Ladder trucks are vital because their aerials are used to save lives and battles fires from above.
While on the way, firefighters spotted flames ripping through an occupied two-story house a block west on Wyoming. More than 15 minutes passed before the first fire engine arrived.
Back on the east side, a fire broke out inside an occupied house at Montclair and the I-94 service drive at 8:50 a.m. Seven people, including two children, escaped unharmed.
But three firefighters were injured trying to save the home.
“Everybody out of the house,” the chief said over the radio. “Let’s go. Now!”
None of the injuries were life-threatening.
About 16 hours after flames tore through the three houses on Milton, the block reeked of natural gas. Water spewed from a broken pipe in the basement of one of the flattened houses.
Children played on nearby manicured lawns.
Like many lower-income neighborhoods in Detroit, the area is riddled with broken hydrants, marked with out-of-service signs.
Morning of hell: 3 firefighters injured, 7 houses destroyed, 2 fire trucks break down added by Steve Neavling on
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Steve Neavling
Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.
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