Detroit High-Rise Fire Sends 3 to Hospital, Man Rescued by Ladder

A fire on the ninth floor of a 12-story apartment tower in Detroit's New Center neighborhood sent three people to the hospital on Thursday morning, November 12, and forced residents out into the cold while crews checked the building for smoke and water damage. One man had to be brought down from a window by a ladder truck.

The fire broke out at the Pallister Plaisance Apartments, 888 Pallister Street, a tower in the New Center area close to the Lodge Freeway and Grand Boulevard. The cause had not been determined as of Thursday evening.

What happened

Detroit firefighters were sent to the building at about 8:12 a.m. after reports of a fire alarm, according to CBS Detroit, and saw smoke pushing from a ninth-floor window. FOX 2 Detroit reported that the first alarm came in a minute earlier, at 8:11 a.m.

Battalion Chief Jeffrey Urbas told reporters that every responding company was on scene within about five to six minutes. Because so many residents were inside the 12-story building, he told FOX 2, he called for a second alarm right away to bring in more crews.

Crews found the fire inside a single ninth-floor apartment and kept it there. WXYZ reported that the unit appeared to be lived in but that no one was home when the fire started. Even so, smoke traveled upward: CBS Detroit reported smoke damage on the ninth through 12th floors, and neighboring units also took on water from the firefight. FOX 2 reported the fire was out by about 9 a.m.

Rescues and injuries

Dispatchers received several 911 calls from residents who said they were trapped in their apartments, WXYZ reported. Firefighters used a ladder truck to reach a man who had climbed partway out of his ninth-floor window and bring him down safely.

That man was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital, according to CBS Detroit. A mother and her two children, who got out through the building's normal exit routes, went to Children's Hospital of Michigan, where the two children were treated for smoke inhalation. Officials described all of the hospital injuries as not life-threatening. Firefighters and paramedics checked or treated several more residents on site.

Accounts of the total number of people affected vary. Most outlets reported three people taken to hospitals, while a FOX 2 headline said four people were hurt. FOX 2 also quoted Urbas as saying that somewhere between eight and 11 residents showed signs of smoke inhalation, many of whom were evaluated at the scene rather than transported.

Alarms worked, but no sprinklers

Urbas told WXYZ that the building's fire alarms sounded as designed but that the apartments were not equipped with sprinklers. One 10th-floor tenant, who lives directly above the burned unit and had moved in only about 10 days earlier, told the station that smoke made it almost impossible to see outside his windows.

Older high-rise apartment buildings in many US cities were built before sprinkler requirements took hold, and retrofits are not always required. In a building without sprinklers, a fire can keep growing until firefighters reach it, which is one reason smoke so often spreads to the floors above.

Help for residents

Warming buses were brought to the scene so residents had somewhere to wait while crews assessed the damage, CBS Detroit reported. Residents on floors that were not affected were allowed back inside later in the day, according to WXYZ, while people whose units were damaged received help from the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. A building manager told FOX 2 that displaced households would be moved into other apartments in the same building.

It is not yet clear how many households will be out of their homes or for how long.

Investigation

The Detroit Fire Department's Fire Investigation Division is working to determine how the fire began. Officials have not named a cause. At the scene, fire officials used the moment to remind residents to avoid relying on extension cords and to keep anything that burns easily away from beds and curtains.

What this means for renters

High-rise fires present problems that garden-style complexes do not. If you live in a tower, a few steps can make a real difference:

• Know both stairwells. Count the doors from your unit to each exit so you can find them by touch in heavy smoke. Never use an elevator during a fire.
• Know when to stay put. If the hallway is full of smoke or the door is hot, it can be safer to stay in your unit. Close the door, seal gaps with wet towels, call 911 with your apartment number, and signal from a window.
• Ask about sprinklers. Before signing or renewing a lease, ask the landlord whether units and hallways are sprinklered. If they are not, working smoke alarms in every bedroom matter even more.
• Document everything. If smoke or water reaches your unit, photograph the damage before cleanup begins and keep receipts for hotel stays, meals and replacement items.
• Check your renters insurance. Many policies cover smoke damage and include loss-of-use coverage for temporary housing. Your landlord's policy covers the building, not your belongings.
• Review your lease. If your unit cannot be lived in, many states and local codes let tenants stop paying rent or end the lease. Get any relocation offer in writing.

Renter News will update this story if investigators identify a cause or release an updated count of displaced residents.