Hoarder House Catches Fire In Royal Oak
ROYAL OAK (WWJ) - Firefighters say things could have ended up "a lot worse" when they responded to a blaze at an apparent hoarder house in Royal Oak.
The fire broke out early Friday morning at a home on Benjamin Avenue near 13 Mile Road, just east of Woodward Avenue.
Assistant Fire Chief Jim Cook told WWJ's Mike Campbell that the homeowner "flagged them down" after the blaze took off.
"It was a small, one bedroom fire. Looks like the back bedroom," he said. "Guys did a quick knock down. No injuries."
Cook said firefighters had trouble navigating the home because paths were only available to some rooms. Others were blocked by items and completely inaccessible.
"There's quite a bit of stuff in there," he said, adding that some piles of items were stacked about five feet tall. "It slowed us down a little bit."
Firefighters had to break a window and toss out boxes and other miscellaneous items to prevent the fire from spreading.
It wasn't immediately clear how the fire started. Cook said the home had no working smoke detectors.
"We're still looking, we're doing the investigation right now," he said.