ROYAL OAK, Mich. – A 72-year-old woman died when a massive house fire consumed her home in Royal Oak, officials said.
The fire began early Saturday at a home in the 300 block of Minerva Avenue. A neighbor was awakened by the smell of smoke around 2 a.m. and dialed 911.
Neighbors living on Minerva Avenue, just off 11 Mile Road, woke up to an orange glow on the block. Fire crews were battling an intense house fire in the early-morning hours.
Rick Gill held out hope his elderly neighbor of nearly 30 years had made it out safely.
"It was a terrible thing to sit and watch," Gill said. "Then the police told me she didn't get out, so it's been a sad day on the block."
Gill and other neighbors told Local 4 News that the woman lived alone and despite being 72, she still went to work at the courthouse in downtown Detroit.
"We always pitched in and helped her out, from unloading groceries to shoveling her driveway," Gill said.
Gill wishes there was something he and others could have done Saturday morning.
"If it had been during the day and people would have been around or seen it, that anybody would have saw a wisp or the smoke, people would have been knocking her door down to come on in and help her, make sure she got out," Gill said.
The Fire Department said the intense smoke and flames made entry into the house difficult. It appears the fire started in the rear of the house.
"It's been hard for everybody today to have to deal with it," Gill said. "It's an ache in your stomach."
Officials said they do not know how the fire started, but say the home was not affected by the widespread power outages. Investigations are ongoing.