DETROIT – Investigators believe arson could be the cause of a deadly fire which killed two people Tuesday night at a group home on Lakewood Street near Freud Street in Detroit.
Detroit police said someone told investigators they saw someone throw something into the home. Two people were killed by the fire -- a 60-year-old man and 59-year-old woman.
Update: Might be arson. DPD says someone may have thrown something in. 2 dead, 60 y.o. man, 59 y.o. woman. #local4 pic.twitter.com/COBPXKkrem
— Nick Monacelli (@nickmonacelli) May 24, 2017
Investigators believe the fire started on the first floor and spread up to the second floor. That's likely how two people died inside the home. They may have been trapped on the second floor.
Five to seven people were inside the group foster home when the fire broke out about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday. A 66-year-old woman was transferred to a hospital as a precaution.
Deputy Fire Commissioner David Fornell said they got the call about 11:30 p.m.
"There was a woman lying in the front yard and ... all people had self-evacuated," said Fornell.
He said firefighters were able to douse the fire quickly. One victim was found in the hallway and another was found in a back bedroom.
"The woman in the front yard had more of an anxiety attack, but they took her to the hospital as a precaution," he said.
Fornell said arson investigators are calling this a suspicious fire but the cause is still unknown. He said the victims were burned beyond recognition.
"A house of that age and of that size, they're pretty strongly built," he said, noting there could have been an accelerant used.
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