DETROIT – Firefighters are investigating after two people were found dead in a home that was ravaged by a massive fire on Detroit’s west side.
Officials were called around 6:30 a.m. Monday to a home on Pingree Street.
“They got inside the building, and in doing their search, they found two victims in the front room,” Detroit fire Capt. Dave Fornell said. “They’re both deceased, burned beyond recognition at this point.”
The two adults were found in the front room of the first floor, authorities said. Investigators believe they lived at the home.
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Officials said they found food and medicine inside the house.
“It is tragic,” Fornell said. “I mean, anytime anybody loses their life, especially in the fire, I mean, we kind of take it to heart with us. In this particular case, with the intensity of the fire and everything else, they were probably passed before we got here.”
Fornell said the fire was extremely intense by the time firefighters arrived.
“It went into the second floor, and then, of course, it ended up burning into the roof area,” Fornell said.
The flames spread so quickly the first crews to arrive had to call for more backup, officials said.
“Tremendously challenging,” Fornell said. “If you look over the front window, you can see the stone lintel and you can see how that’s fractured. Tremendous amount of heat coming out.”
Investigators don’t believe the second floor was occupied.
At this time, the fire isn’t being investigated as suspicious, but that could change depending on what medical officials and crime scene technicians discover.
“They’ll probably maybe bring the dog in to see if there’s any accelerants or any suspicion they have at this particular point,” Fornell said. “It’s a very slow, methodical investigation. It’s going to take most of the day just to get started.”
The cause of the fire is still unclear. Investigators are working to identify the two victims and notify their families.