A four-alarm blaze swept through an apartment building on Detroit's west side Sunday morning, killing a 3-year-old boy and a woman in separate apartments.
Eleven other people, including a child, were taken to hospitals, according to fire officials.
The blaze erupted shortly after 6:30 a.m. at a 46-unit brick building on Merton west of Woodward, said Detroit Fire Lt. Kwaku Atara. Firefighters had it under control about 11 a.m. The 4-year-old boy, whose name was withheld, was pronounced dead at the scene of smoke inhalation, the Fire Department spokesman said.
The woman was discovered between 6 and 7 p.m., as firefighters combed the fire-ravaged building for more victims, said Detroit Police Officer Jeremy Aguayo. She also wasn't identified, pending family notification.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but officials say they believe it started in a stairwell.
The 11 residents had injuries ranging from smoke inhalation to fractures, Atara said.
No firefighters were injured.
"One of the biggest reasons many people were able to get out was because the smoke alarms alerted them," Atara said. "Although this was a tragic incident, it could have been much worse if not for the working smoke alarms in the units and the hallways."
He added that under state and city laws, it's a landlord's responsibility to install a smoke alarm on every floor.
