Detroit Firefighters Extinguish Blaze At Vacant Home
DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit firefighters on Tuesday morning were called to a scene that's all too familiar: a burning vacant home.
Fire broke out during the early morning hours at an unoccupied home on Queen and Manning streets, in the Gratiot and State Fair area on the city's east side.
Investigators on the scene told WWJ's Ron Dewey arson is suspected, although it wasn't immediately clear how the fire was set. An investigation is ongoing.
Wilfred Shepard, who has lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years, said the home hadn't been abandoned for long.
"She moved out maybe two, three weeks ago. Her boyfriend had bought the house for her and a couple of houses across the street caught fire and she decided she wasn't going to stay. She told us she let it go back to the mortgage company," he said.
Shepard's home is one of about three others that are still occupied on Queen Street -- every other house is either burned out or abandoned and decaying.
