Three residents of an adult foster care home in Redford Township were found dead after a fire tore through the house early yesterday morning, while two other residents managed to escape safely. Firefighters arrived at the scene on Woodbine Avenue near Telegraph and Five Mile roads shortly after 6 a.m. to find heavy smoke and active flames.
The home has been identified in state licensing records as the Tomas Woodbine Home at 15763 Woodbine Avenue, a state-licensed Adult Small Group Home operated by Tomas Ventures Residence LTD, according to the Metro Detroit News. The facility, licensed to care for up to six adults with developmental disabilities or mental illness, held an active license through November 2026, per Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs records. Two residents escaped the fire safely, while three others were found dead inside, the outlet reported.
Multiple Departments Battle the Blaze
The Redford Township Fire Department received mutual aid from the neighboring Livonia and Southfield fire departments during the emergency response, according to FOX 2 Detroit. The station reported that firefighters encountered heavy smoke and active flames after responding shortly after 6 a.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, per the Metro Detroit News report.
Redford Township's fire department operates three stations staffed by 45 full-time career firefighters and paramedics under Fire Chief Chris Mayes, according to Redford Township. The department traces its roots to 1925 as a volunteer service before establishing a full-time career force in 1960, the township notes on its website.
State Rules Govern Fire Safety in Care Homes
Michigan Administrative Code R 400.1438 requires licensed adult foster care homes to conduct four fire drills annually, including at least two during sleeping hours, and to prominently post emergency evacuation plans. The regulation, tracked by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, also requires accessible emergency contact numbers and unobstructed egress routes at all times.
Separate life-safety standards enforced by Michigan's Bureau of Fire Services mandate that small group adult foster care homes maintain at least two independent ground-floor exit routes, positive-latching non-locking exit hardware, and clear hallways. The rules, dating to May 2004, aim to facilitate rapid evacuation for residents with physical or mental impairments. It remains unclear whether the required overnight fire drills at the Woodbine Avenue home were up to date, how many direct care staff members were on duty during the pre-dawn hours, or what specific factors caused the fire.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Metro Detroit
Michigan currently maintains more than 4,200 active licensed adult foster care and group home facilities statewide, which provide 24-hour supervision and personal care in home-like settings, according to state licensing records. Official minutes from Michigan's State Fire Safety Board show that civilian residential fires account for the vast majority of annual fire fatalities recorded across the state.
The Redford fire follows another major care facility fire in the region less than a year earlier. In October 2025, emergency responders conducted overnight rescues and evacuations after a fire broke out at the American House senior assisted living facility in Southgate, with bodycam footage documenting dramatic rescues of sleeping residents, according to NBC News.
Redford Township, an inner-ring suburb bordering Detroit's western edge roughly 15 miles from downtown, covers 11.2 square miles and is home to about 48,300 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. As the investigation into the cause of Saturday's fire continues, questions remain about the safety protocols in place at the Woodbine Avenue home in the hours before flames engulfed it.
