2 sleeping women rescued as fire tears through Ann Arbor duplex
The fire-damaged home this morning.
Paula Gardner | AnnArbor.com
Two women who were sleeping inside a burning duplex were rescued late Wednesday, Ann Arbor firefighters said.
Ann Arbor police officers got the women out of the house, as firefighters battled the blaze that caused major damage to the properties in the 2900 block of St. Aubin, which is just south of Packard and west of Platt Road.
Firefighters were called to the homes at 11:22 p.m. Wednesday and arrived to find flames coming from the attached garage.
"The garage was fully involved and had already collapsed," said Battalion Chief Robert Vogel.
Flames were extending into the house and spreading to the adjoining home, firefighters said. A combined four units in two buildings were affected by the blaze, said Vogel.
Police went into the home from the front door, located around the corner on Springbrook Street, and rescued the two women.
The occupants of the other duplexes escaped unharmed, firefighters said. The two women did not require hospitalization, but they were treated by Huron Valley Ambulance on the scene.
Three vehicles were destroyed in the fire, including one in the garage and two in the driveway.
Both homes also were severely damaged, firefighters said, pegging the damage estimate at "well over $100,000."
The cause had not been determined as of 10 a.m. Thursday, but Vogel said it did start in the garage.
Firefighters from the nearby Huron Parkway/Platt Road station were the first AAFD responders and Vogel said they reached the fire within minutes. Firefighters from the Briarwood station backed them up, and they did not seek assistance from other agencies.
Comments
Carole
Fri, Dec 9, 2011 : 2:26 p.m.
Congratulations again for doing a great job. Best wishes to you all and stay safe.
Dwight Lang
Fri, Dec 9, 2011 : 12:23 a.m.
Altruism is at the core of the human condition.
jon
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 11:22 p.m.
Before anyone arrived a tall black man came to the front door and was pounding on the door waking the two women up telling them the house is on fire. The two women quickly came out side to see the garage in total flame. When they looked around the man was gone. Like he vanished. Could this have been a GOD thing??? I think so!! So if anyone knows this man , I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart for saving my girlfriend and her roommate (also a friend). Thank you Thank you. email me @ jonhill29@yahoo.com
Gill
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 4:39 p.m.
Sounds like the one hour fire burn through rating required between the garage and the living space was installed and worked. Requiring construction inspections in this country gets us less deaths this way in fires, earthquakes, etc. by having properly built structures.
Fordie
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 3:37 p.m.
Thank you to the Police and Fire Department for your service. It should also be noted that American Red Cross volunteers were on-scene to provide assistance to the residents.
Paula Gardner
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 3:42 p.m.
Yes, thank you for adding that.
Paula Gardner
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 3:22 p.m.
The story has been updated to include a photo and a little more detail. That includes that AAPD reached the scene very early on and made the rescue, and the fact that firefighters from the nearby Platt Road/Huron Parkway station responded.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 7:29 p.m.
Thanks. Thanks. :-)
Paula Gardner
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 3:22 p.m.
The story has been updated to include a photo and a little more detail. That includes that AAPD reached the scene very early on and made the rescue, and the fact that firefighters from the nearby Platt Road/Huron Parkway station responded.
TMazur
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 2:59 p.m.
The article clearly states it was police officers who rescued the women from the burning home, so let's give credit to both the police and fire departments for a job well done.
brian martin
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 2:32 p.m.
Wow, I live 2 houses down from here on Springbrook. Drove by this morning and there was quite a bit of damage. Nice job, AAFD.
Dominick Lanza
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 2:29 p.m.
Great job by great people the City is lucky to have such people serving
Tom Teague
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 2:18 p.m.
Thanks to the firefighters for saving these two women. I'm glad no one was injured. It is always surprising -- and frequently tragic -- to read that people can sleep through significant fires in their own homes. It's a big reason we should regularly check the smoke alarm batteries.
Tom Teague
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 7:09 p.m.
So they did! Thanks to the AAPD officers who got them out. And thanks to the AAFD for fighting the fire. Thanks Craig: Learning to read evidently should be next on my 'to-do' list.
Craig Lounsbury
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 5:10 p.m.
it appears the police not the firefighters got the women out of the house.
Linda Peck
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 1:44 p.m.
Thank you, our Heroes!!! It brings tears to my eyes to think of the courage it takes to do this job.
Bcar
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 1:21 p.m.
wow! good thing there wasnt another fire going on at the same time in another part of the city...
racerx
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 2:25 p.m.
Why? Just curious, was there crews from various other fire departments in the city that responded? If so, what information was this gleamed from? The article doesn't mention how many other departments responded. I for one, have questioned how many departments respond from other departments, which IMHO, wonders if there are too many or too few fire fighters. Hopefully the article can be updated with this information.
cette
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 12:37 p.m.
Good job, AAPD.
cette
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 1:11 p.m.
You are correct. Good job AAFD!
LoveLife
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 12:46 p.m.
AAPD???? What the heck did they do? Good job, "AAFD"!
WalkingJoe
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 12:36 p.m.
Great job AAFD. Heroes all and if you talk to them they'll probably say they were just doing their job.
A2Medic
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 2:10 p.m.
...because they were just doing their job.. That's what we pay them for (fire-rescue, fire-suppresion, fire-inspection and fire-prevention)..
justcurious
Thu, Dec 8, 2011 : 12:03 p.m.
I'm glad that everyone was able to get out safely. We can thank the Fire Department for that. It must be terrible for the residents to have to deal with something like this.