REDFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – State and local officials are investigating what caused a house fire in Redford Township that killed three people Saturday morning.
The fire happened at a home on Woodbine Street just off Telegraph Road.
Over the weekend, investigators described the address as an adult foster care home, but the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) sent an email to Local 4 Monday afternoon, stating “There is not a license on file” for the house where the fire happened.
Video shared with Local 4 shows thick smoke billowing from the house as flames burned through the structure.
“That was my only concern. Did anybody make it out?” said neighbor Shawni Green, who lives across the street.
Green said he first learned about the fire when his brother sent him a video of the smoke. When he came home, he saw crews working to put out the flames. Days later, he said, it is still difficult to process what happened.
“It’s hard to lose people, especially to fires,” Green said. “I just felt sorrow, like loss for words, really.”
The home is now surrounded by a fence posted with “keep out” signs—charred siding and visible damage mark where the flames tore through.
On Monday afternoon, while Local 4 was outside the property, a van pulled into the driveway next door.
The driver told Local 4 that his cousin lived in the home where the three people died and that they were there to retrieve his cousin’s belongings.
The driver declined to comment further, but he and his cousin were seen loading items from the backyard into the van.
Green said he did not know the residents well, but he will miss the brief exchanges they shared.
Investigators have not yet determined what sparked the fire or how long their work will take.