NOVI, Mich. – A fire at a Novi condominium complex Wednesday morning has injured at least one woman and badly damaged five homes.
A woman was taken to a hospital with minor burns and smoke inhalation after the fire ripped through the condos about 9 a.m. on Olde Orchard Street near 10 Mile and Haggerty roads.
Novi firefighters worked to douse the flames and keep the fire from spreading. Officials are working to determine what caused the fire.
Jeff Johnson, the Novi fire/EMS director, said the preliminary cause of the fire is a candle which ignited a mattress. The woman sustained minor burns and smoke inhalation while trying to push the mattress out of a second story window.
She also tried to extinguish the fire on other items. Her 14-year-old son was treated for smoke inhalation. Both were released. The boy finally convinced his mother to get out of the house and he knocked on the doors of neighbors.
No other injuries were reported.
Firefighters accounted for everyone living in the condos, but one woman could not find her cat. Firefighters later found the animal hiding in a suspended ceiling in the basement. The cat will be OK.
The Novi Fire Department and the condominium management are working to help the affected families find places to stay.