Detroit Firefighters Injured in Stairway Collapse

Three Detroit firefighters suffered bumps and bruises when a stairway collapsed during a blaze at an occupied apartment building near the Davison and Lodge freeways.

The fire broke out in a second-floor, rear apartment of the building at Lasalle and Waverly at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Detroit Fire Arson Unit Captain Patrick McNulty said. The firefighters were on the stairs when it collapsed, but none suffered life-threatening injuries, he added.

Resident Yalonda Beasley, 37, said she just dropped her two boys, ages 10 and 12, off at school and her husband just left for work when the fire broke out.

"He left, I left, 15 minutes later we got a phone call from a neighbor that the building was on fire," Beasley said.

They were the only residents of the building, and their apartment at the opposite end of the building from the fire suffered extensive smoke damage, she said. She arrived home as the injured firefighters were led away.

"They're O.K. -- they're thumbs up," she said. "Very grateful to them -- every last one of them."

Her husband, Aaron Beasley, 43, said he is devastated. He said he helped the owner fix up the building, which was nearly ready for new tenants.

"The only thing we had to do was paint the upstairs," he said. "I've got to tell my sons -- that's the hard part."

The Arson Unit is investigating the blaze after residents said they smelled smoke in the building's hallway just before the fire broke out, McNulty said. No residents were hurt in the fire.

Copyright 2012 - Detroit Free Press

McClatchy-Tribune News Service