6 families displaced when fire breaks out in attic of apartment complex
Six families were forced from their homes after a fire Saturday evening that broke out in the attic of an apartment complex in Ypsilanti Township.
The Red Cross is helping nine adults and two children with food, clothing and lodging after the fire in the 1300 block of Russell Street at Anderson Villas apartments.
Ypsilanti Township firefighters received a call reporting the fire just before 5:30 p.m. and found heavy smoke and fire in the common attic of the single-story 12-unit development, said Ypsilanti Township fire Capt. David Crescio.
No one was injured, though all 12 units of the complex were damaged. Nine were occupied. Crescio estimated the damage at $180,000 to the structure and $60,000 to the contents of the apartments.
Four firefighting crews from the township were joined by two from the City of Ypsilanti, two from Pittsfield Township, and one from Ann Arbor.
Firefighters were on the scene about 2.5 hours fighting the blaze, which was contained to the attic, though crews had to pull down the ceiling in some places to get to the flames.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Crescio said the complex's electrical system may be to blame.
Comments
jns131
Mon, Jul 11, 2011 : 2:18 p.m.
These buildings would not exist if everyone on the street over from them had signed to not have this place build so close to the houses near them. I watched that place go up and afterwards it smelled electrical. These units I believe were built in the early 60's. It also houses low income and others who otherwise would not get a place to live. This is sad to watch but in all fairness Russell Street Apartments does not maintain their units very well. Very sad to be displaced and we did look inside afterwards. What a mess. The roofs are completely damaged and it is going to be a lot more then what they say will be. Going to be fun bringing that section up to code. That is what will cost more then anything else.
thedime
Sun, Jul 10, 2011 : 11:39 p.m.
Craig, these are row type apartment housing units that predate current codes. If I had to guess, these were built in the late 60's.
sailor67
Sun, Jul 10, 2011 : 8:08 p.m.
Current building codes require fire separtion between units - but those buildings pre-date those (fire separation) requirements. Unfortunately, there are no provisions in the Code that require buildings to be updated to current requirements.
Craig Lounsbury
Sun, Jul 10, 2011 : 9:55 p.m.
thanks for clearing that up. Do you know how far back the current requirement goes?
Craig Lounsbury
Sun, Jul 10, 2011 : 6:48 p.m.
Thankfully no one was hurt. The "the common attic" part of the story seems a bit disconcerting. I thought codes required a fire retardant separation (usually drywall) between units in the attic. Maybe someone with code knowledge can correct me.