TROY, Mich. – Firefighters rescued a cat from a massive fire that destroyed one condominium and damaged three others Sunday morning in Troy.
The fire started at about 8 a.m. on Brentwood Drive.
“I looked up and saw the smoke and said ‘Hey, that’s my hood; let me go and check this out,’” said Shotie Ali-Jones.
Ali-Jones is a Red Cross volunteer. She was on her morning walk at the Northfield Hills Condominiums in Troy when she saw the smoke.
“We came and responded,” Ali-Jones said. “We have blankets and water. Went home, got gear, and showed up.”
Heavy fire and smoke was pouring from an end unit. The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen.
“The occupants discovered it,” Troy fire investigator Lt. Paul Firth said. “They could not get to their cellphones and they went to a neighbor and called 911.”
There were no injuries to the families or to firefighters.
“When I came out I thought it was a small thing,” Elias Varachia said after she escaped the fire. “I did not realize it was spreading so fast.”
The fire spread to three other units through the condominiums’ shared attics.
One family feared they had lost their cats until Troy firefighters found one of them named Zebo.
“One of the firefighters found him,” Suriaya Essack-Varachia said. “We are waiting for the little one. We have one more kitten in there.”
The kitten was later found safe.