DETROIT – An autopsy is shedding new light on the death of a 26-year-old man who was reported missing days before it was determined the Detroit Fire Department failed to find him in a house fire they had extinguished.
In the family's first and only interview, they told the Local 4 Defenders that the new report leads them to believe Kevin McGriff Jr. would still be alive if firefighters had properly searched the home.
McGriff died on the kitchen floor of his father's home while he was trying to get the back door during a fire, officials said. According to an autopsy, he was overcome by smoke.
Kevin McGriff Sr. said his son loved rap music and watching sports on television.
"I'm angry, sad, hurt, disappointed," Kevin McGriff Sr. said.
He said he believes his son would be alive if the Detroit Fire Department did its job.
"Just do their job so nobody gets hurt," Kevin McGriff Sr. said. "Do what they're supposed to do."
When Kevin McGriff Sr. went to work the morning of March 5, his son was at home sleeping. Firefighters were called at 8:25 a.m. and arrived less than four minutes later to put out the fire.
About 20 minutes later, firefighters went inside the home and found the family's dog and cat dead. They cleared the house and headed back to the fire station, but Kevin McGriff Jr. was still inside.
For five days the family searched the streets and shelters, thinking Kevin McGriff Jr. had escaped the fire but was injured or unable to contact his family.
"You know, I went to the hospital," Kevin McGriff Sr. said. "The Fire Department, they were eating lunch and they said it happened about 8:30. They said there wasn't anybody in there. I told them my son was there. So I went back, just started riding around, riding around, calling police stations."
Then, on March 10, family members went inside the home to look for insurance papers. They found Kevin McGriff Jr. on the kitchen floor.
"To witness any human being in the state that had to be witnessed today is deplorable," family friend Ashley said. "This is outrageous. Someone has to be held accountable."
The family's attorney, Sean Burke, received a copy of the autopsy report.
"Well, the medical examiner found that Kevin was present in the house at the time of the fire and that the carbon monoxide and the smoke incapacitated him and was the eventual cause of death," Burke said.
The Fire Department apologized, but that didn't ease the pain for the McGriff family, which thinks Kevin McGriff Jr. would have been found alive if firefighters had searched the kitchen.
"Right now I'm just still stuck trying to deal with this," Kevin McGriff Sr. said. "It's very hard."
The loss of family cat, Nunu, and family dog, Bear, added insult to injury for the family. Nunu was found dead inside the home, and Bear was left on the front lawn. Family members said firefighters just drove off.
"I didn't even realize anything about my dogs, and I was, like, 'Hold on, where are my dogs?'" Kevin McGriff Sr. said. "When I came back, I'm like, 'Where's my dog?'"
He said he feels like the Fire Department lacks common decency.
"I'm very angry right now," Kevin McGriff Sr. said. "I don't know. I mean, it's only three bedrooms and a kitchen, living room and basement."
"Absolutely we're going to find out more," Burke said. "There's a lot of questions that are unanswered."
At the time, the fire commissioner apologized, saying firefighters are responsible for making sure everyone is out of the home before they leave a scene. The Fire Department chose not to comment further on Kevin McGriff Jr.'s death.
The family has not decided if it will file a lawsuit. They're waiting to see what the results of an independent autopsy show. Those results are expected in a couple of weeks.