Massive Three-Alarm Blaze Destroys Southgate, MI, Senior Facility
The Detroit News
(TNS)
Southgate— A fire reignited Sunday at a Southgate senior facility that was aflame Friday night, authorities said.
The Southgate Fire Department and neighboring departments returned to the American House Southgate, 16333 Allen Road, on Sunday afternoon, said Southgate Patrolman Houston Garcia.
Flames and smoke were coming from the rear of the building, which had burned Friday, but it burned with less intensity Sunday.
Police blocked the entrance to the facility as firefighters worked to extinguish the flames with hoses for hours. About a half-dozen police and fire vehicles were on the scene.
Former American House Southgate workers Ashley Gould, 39, and Curtis Swope, 39, stood at the rear of the building where darkened, damaged frames of the apartments could be seen.
The couple, about three years ago, used to work in the kitchen at the center and saw the news of the fire on Facebook on Friday evening. They said streets were blocked off and nearby businesses were crowded with people.
"I was shocked," Gould said of the news of the fire.
"You could actually see black smoke and the glow of the flame. It looked like a freaking volcano erupting," Swope said. "I'm shocked that everybody was able to get out alive. ... I heard some people didn't leave 'til 3' o'clock in the morning ... helping people out.
"A lot of people in this complex were bed-bound and can't walk down a flight of stairs."
The incident made fire watchers reflect on two fires: one current and the other next door at Meadows of Southgate, a senior citizen apartment complex that burned two years ago in October 2023, which is now an empty lot with debris.
Jerry Goodell, 68, of Southgate stood between the two lots, praising first responders for their unity and coordination after hearing recordings from the Downriver Central Dispatch. Goodell is a ham-radio operator, licensed broadcast engineer and has been listening to police scanners for over 50 years.
"The coordination here was top flight, all these cities were here ... . There were probably six or seven cities that were fighting this fire," Goodell said. "There were 20-foot flames coming off the top of this building. I heard that on the radio," he said as he replayed police communications from the dispatch center Friday.
Goodell said police were helping get people out of the building.
"It's not their job, but they were in there. ... You hear police on the radio saying, 'There are people trapped on the first and second floor!'
The first responders were hailed as heroes after evacuating residents from facility.
Southgate Councilwoman Victoria Araj commended first responders from Southgate and other communities that assisted for their efforts in the Friday blaze.
"First responders are our everyday heroes and I can’t say thank you enough for making sure all the families of those evacuated got the most important news, that their loved ones were safe," Araj said on social media Saturday.
Just after 10 p.m. Friday, a large structure fire was reported at the assisted living facility, according a release from Southgate police.
First responders saw heavy flames and smoke coming from the building, and Southgate officers, along with law enforcement and firefighters from neighboring communities, began evacuating residents, police said.
Police said 87 residents and staff were in the building at the time and all were accounted for. Two people, including a firefighter, were treated for injuries, police said.
More: First responders hailed as heroes for evacuating residents from burning senior facility in Southgate
The displaced residents were taken to the Southgate Senior Center for temporary shelter and assistance. Most residents were reunited with their families, police said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
In an interview with WDIV Local 4, Southgate Fire Chief Justin Graves said people were saying the similarities between the fires are "wild."
Three people were hospitalized after the Meadows of Southgate fire in October 2023 and Graves said it was the biggest fire he had seen in his then-20 years with the department.
In October 2019, a top-floor fire occurred at Seaway Towers, another senior housing center in Southgate.
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