FOOD DONATIONS SOUGHT FOR FIRE SURVIVORS
Gutted building will take months to rebuild
Mount Clemens city officials worked Monday to collect nonperishable food for the residents who were left homeless following a massive fire at an apartment complex over the weekend.
City leaders are coordinating efforts with the American Red Cross to assist the residents of the apartment fire, but say that organization’s resources are running low following three separate fires in metro Detroit in recent days.
“Right now, we need food items that you can easily prepare in a hotel room like peanut butter and jelly, granola bars, things that are non-perishable,” said Mount Clemens Mayor Laura Kropp.
Other suggested items include bread, fruit, bagels, canned soup, crackers and paper products.
The blaze broke out about 11 p.m. Saturday at River North Village Apartments on North River Road, east of Gratiot Avenue. Eight people were injured and 22 renters were displaced, according to an apartment manager.
All of the apartment residents who are not able to stay with friends or family are being housed in two hotels. They will be relocated into other rental properties the complex operators own.
In terms of other necessities, Kropp is asking the public to take gift cards or cash to the Mount Clemens Fire Department any time in the next day or so. The fire department is located at 2 Dickinson, east of Gratiot Avenue, along the Clinton River.
The Mount Clemens Foundation is coordinating all of those efforts, Kropp said. The mayor is personally coordinating efforts along with Good Shepherd Coalition and the apartment managers.
“We really don’t want people donating clothing right now because we don’t have the capac
ity to sort through it all,” the mayor said. “We will need all of those things later. I know your first instinct may be to drop off clothing, but we’re asking for the time being to hold off.”
There are individual GoFundMe.com accounts for various residents but at least one has proven to be the work of a scam artist. Anyone donating to a page is urged to make sure it is legitimate.
Rebuilding will take months
Julie Fagan, a manager at River North Village, said an insurance adjuster estimated it will take between three and six months to tear down and remove the rubble.
It will take several months to rebuild the building. She said the management had just renovated some of the apartments.
“We are solely focused on helping our residents,” Fagan said. “We’ve spent all day on the phones, calling all the agencies and the city. We’ve never had a fire this big, so it’s a learning experience.”
Bodycam footage from Macomb County Sheriff’s deputies show the chaos and horror of the fire.
A dispatcher took a 911 call from a resident who was trapped in his second-floor unit with his girlfriend, their entrance blocked by flames.
“The fire is right at my door,” the man says. “I have to go through the window.”
Other footage shows several residents who apparently suffered broken or sprained ankles as they jumped or fell from second-story balconies to escape the intense heat. Some fled their burning units barefoot. Several suffered smoke inhalation.
One woman is shown laying in a pile of snow, crying out in pain as sheriff’s deputies lift her to carry her away from the burning building.
“Oh Lord,” the woman said. “Oh my God — my ankle is broken.”
Another scene showed a man demanding to be let back into his apartment to retrieve his cellphone.
“I’m not scared of dying — I need my phone,” he shouted at deputies who refused to let him back in.
Fire in freezing cold
The weather couldn’t have been worse when the blaze broke out and that has continued. According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm warning is in effect for Macomb and neighboring counties. Monday’s high was only around 16 degrees.
All of the residents are accounted for, according to the sheriff’s office. Eight residents were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Several persons were transported by ambulance to nearby hospitals and other took their own transportation.
“I am proud of the job that all of the first responders did to get these residents to safety,” Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said in a statement. “I urge all of our citizens to set up a safety plan for emergencies and to review and practice these plans with your family and neighbors. Property can be repurchased but a life can not be replaced.”
Investigators from the sheriff’s office haven’t been able to get into the building to investigate the fire’s cause and origin. They are waiting for the water meter to be shut down as the basement is flooded from the extinguishing efforts and broken pipes.
“We had to get an underground excavator in there to shut the meter off so our DPW could get a crew down there,” said Kropp.
The sheriff’s office has a van stationed at the complex on North River Road. No one is allowed to enter the building.
Anyone with information regarding the fire is asked to contact the Macomb County Sheriff’s Detective Bureau at 586-3079358.