DETROIT – Investigators are working to determine what caused a fire at a vacant house that spread to a few neighboring homes on Detroit’s east side.
The fire happened on the 3500 block of Rohns Street early Wednesday (Aug. 30) morning.
Flames damaged another vacant house next door and a house on the other opposite side, which an 80-year-old man occupied.
“We knew something was going to happen,” said Tameka Simpson. “We just didn’t know when.”
Simpson’s father lives next to the vacant home.
She rushed to the area to check in on her family. Her sister, Ameanna Henson, arrived home and saw the fire from the vacant house shooting toward their father’s home.
Henson said their dad was sleeping. She had to wake him up and help get him outside to safety.
“I didn’t even know whether he was alive when I got in there,” said Henson.
The fire from 3534 Rohns Street damaged the neighbor’s roof and siding and shattered a few windows.
The family said the vacant house had been a problem for several years.
“This house has been abandoned and burned since 2016,” Simpson said.
In 2016, a weather-related fire at 3534 Rohns Street killed two people.
“I really, really would appreciate it if someone would come out here,” Simpson said. “We can’t leave this like this.”
A Detroit Land Bank Authority representative said the agency took over the property in 2019. Workers from the city of Detroit said the house was boarded up then.
They said the property has been sitting on a demolition list that’s out for bids.
“We’re grateful that no one was seriously injured in this event,” said LaJuan Count, Director of Detroit’s Construction and Demolition Department.
Wednesday afternoon, the city of Detroit shared an update about the burned vacant house.
“Today, based on the notification that we’ve received, Buildings and Safety has issued an emergency demo effort for this particular location,” said Count. “So, we’re going to move forward with that demo.”
Simpson and her family said they are relieved that 3534 Rohns Street will soon be gone.
“It could have been another tragedy,” Simpson said. “Someone else could’ve lost their life.”
According to city staff, the demolition could happen within the next week.