A man inside the house called 911 about 3:45 a.m. Sunday to say that three teenagers were trapped in the house, said Waterford Township fire Battalion Chief Curtis Martin.
The teens had escaped by the time firefighters arrived, but two people were inside, Martin told the Detroit Free Press.
Firefighters on a ladder rescued a 48-year-old woman from the second-floor balcony, but her son, identified only as being in his 30s, was found dead in an efficiency apartment behind the attached garage.
Their names were not released.
The woman is the mother of one of the teens, Martin said. The other two are neighbors. The woman was taken to POH Medical Center in Pontiac, where she was in serious condition Sunday. A 20-year-old White Lake Township man who stopped to help was slightly hurt.
The cause of the fire was not reported.
An autopsy was to be conducted Monday at the county medical examiner's office, The Daily Oakland Press reported.
