A three-alarm fire tore through an apartment complex on S Hewitt Road in Ypsilanti Township early Tuesday morning, displacing 15 residents and sending flames climbing from the first floor all the way to the third. One person was treated for minor smoke inhalation, and the cause remains under investigation.
According to ClickOnDetroit, the fire broke out around 6:30 a.m., and firefighters arriving on scene saw heavy flames emanating from the first floor up to the second and third floors. First responders also received reports that some residents may have been trapped inside the building, raising the stakes of an already fast-moving response.
Fire Contained, Minor Injury Reported
The fire has since been contained, and the outlet's report said no injuries had been reported overall, though it noted that one person was treated for minor smoke inhalation. Preliminary investigations into the cause of the fire suggest that it started on the first floor, per Ypsilanti Township Fire Chief Steve Densmore, though the investigation remains ongoing and no final cause has been determined.
The American Red Cross will be working with the township to find temporary housing for those who need it, the station's report added. Displacement from apartment fires has become a familiar story in this stretch of Washtenaw County in recent years, with local crews and relief workers repeatedly stepping in after blazes upend residents' lives with little warning.
A Pattern of Fires in the Area
Ypsilanti Township has seen several major apartment fires in recent years. A fire at Arbor One Apartments in Ypsilanti in February 2024 displaced around 60 residents, with the American Red Cross assisting those who needed temporary housing, according to MLive. In November 2023, another apartment fire in the township left between 15 and 20 people without a home, with one person taken to the hospital in stable condition, per the same outlet's reporting.
An even more destructive fire struck Lake Shore Apartments in the township on Oct. 31, 2020, displacing tenants from at least 16 units and resulting in a total loss of one building, with officials estimating more than $2 million in damage, MLive reported at the time. Further back, a 2011 fire that broke out in the attic of an apartment complex forced six families from their homes, and the Red Cross stepped in to help nine adults and two children with food, clothing and lodging, according to annarbor.com's coverage of that blaze.
For now, the focus in Ypsilanti Township remains on the 15 residents left without housing after Tuesday's fire and on determining exactly how the flames started. Investigators have not released a timeline for when that determination might be complete.
