An early morning fire in Dearborn has claimed the life of a man after his heavily cluttered home became engulfed in flames. The Dearborn Fire Department was called to the 2000 block of Detroit Street around 7:30 a.m. today, where they found a residence in a "hoarder-like" condition, FOX 2 Detroit reported. According to Dearborn Fire Chief Joseph Murray, the excessive clutter significantly complicated efforts to quickly extinguish the blaze and safely rescue the individual.
The situation quickly escalated as two firefighters, attempting to locate and rescue the victim, ran out of air inside the smoky interior. A mayday call was issued, and one firefighter was forced to self-extricate through a window, while the other had to promptly be assisted out by a Rapid Intervention Team, as detailed in a statement obtained by CBS Detroit. The neighboring community attempted to alert the victim prior to the fire department's arrival. "Neighbors were knocking on doors and windows trying to help get a man out of the home," Chief Murray said.
The search and rescue operation ultimately located the man in a back bedroom of the house. He was transported to a local hospital where, despite the rescue efforts, he was pronounced dead from his injuries, WXYZ reported. 25 firefighters responded to the call, with one suffering minor steam burns to his ears, but all firefighters are expected to be okay.
While the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, officials reported that no working smoke alarms were discovered in the home. Riley Hebert, a neighbor, recounted the scene, saying, "There was just smoke like everywhere. I like ran out of the house and I could see the smoke pouring out from here like everywhere." Investigations into the inferno are ongoing as the Dearborn Fire Department works to piece together the circumstances that led to the unfolding of this tragedy and to definitively confirm the fire's point of origin, according to Chief Murray's insights shared with CBS Detroit.
