Chante Collins has lived at a home in Hamtramck for 15 years.
She typically works Saturdays, with her night shift typically ending around 10:30. But she was asked to stay for an extra hour on Saturday night. Collins believes she’s alive because she was at work when a fire started at her home.
“There’s a chance I could’ve been walking in the door or been getting in the house and whatever exploded and I would’ve been house,” Collins said. “Anybody in my part of house wouldn’t have survived.”
Collins, 32, said her phone lit up as flames ripped through the home.
At first, loved ones feared the worst.
“My friends tried to run across the street cause she thought I was in the house,” she said. “They know my schedule.”
When she got there, Collins was in shock.
“All my stuff is gone,” she said. “I can’t process it. Like, I have nothing.”
Her landlord lives upstairs and barely made it out in time.
“He started running,” she said. “Within five minutes, the house was gone, engulfed in flames.”
She doesn’t have insurance and is staying with a friend, but is in desperate need of basic necessities.
“It’s just so unreal, I can’t believe this,” she said. “There’s nothing, nothing that can be saved. Nothing.”
Despite losing everything, Collins is determined to stay positive.
“I could be gone right now, and what would my family and my best friend do,” she said. “You can’t have anything without life. Anything is replaceable. If I’m not here, I can’t have anything.”
Neighbors said they heard a loud explosion inside the home. The cause is still under investigation.
If anyone would like to help Collins, a GoFundMe account has been created and can be viewed by clicking or tapping here.