DETROIT – A family with five children escaped their burning home Friday after a father woke up to the smell of smoke on Detroit's east side.
The fire started around 6 a.m. Friday in the upstairs bedroom of the home in the 11300 block of Balfour Street. Firefighters said the cause of the fire was electrical, as the family had multiple fans running at the time.
Shawn Wakefield's wife and their five children were inside the house when the fire started. He said he had to make sure everyone made it out safely.
"It's like watching one of those horror movies when you want everyone to get out," Wakefield said. "I was glad I was here."
Wakefield said he woke up to the smell of smoke and heard the smoke alarms go off.
"First thing (I wanted to do was see) if everybody's OK (and get) my family out of the house," Wakefield said.
He said the fire started in the bedroom where his three toddler sons, named Ozir, Ocean and Olantai, sleep. His two daughters were asleep downstairs.
"I just ran in there and just grabbed them and grabbed my wife," Wakefield said. "We all ran out of the house."
They had all made it out of the house by the time firefighters arrived.
The three boys were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation while a few family members stayed behind to salvage what they could from the fire.
Wakefield is grateful everyone is OK, but hopes the community will keep his family in their thoughts.
"Just a lot of prayer because we just lost everything," Wakefield said.
Firefighters said the house was heavily damaged by water and fire. They don't believe it can be saved.