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Photos by Dan DuChene
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The day after a fire that took the lives of three children, Paradise Manor residents Shwantez Paul, 15, Aatonia Paul, 6, and Deneath Saxton, 15, placed stuffed animals in front of the apartment complex on Michigan Avenue, which was destroyed by the blaze. Saxton said the children were like brothers and sisters to her.
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A fire that killed three children in the Paradise Manor apartment complex started on a gas stove, said Ypsilanti Fire Marshal Jon Ichesco.
The call came in at about 3:50 p.m. Feb. 8 reported by a driver on the highway who had seen large amounts of smoke. By the time engines arrived from the fire station just down the street, flames could be seen shooting through the roof of the building.
Learning that children were in the building, a three-person team comprised of firefighters Joey Knasiak and Greg Brierley and led by Capt. Michelle Stanbury, tried to get to the second floor to find the children.
Ichesco said in the dense smoke, Stanbury stepped in a hole and suffered ligament damage to her leg. Knasiak suffered minor burns as the ceiling fell in on the team.
A second team, led by firefighter Rich LaPensee, tried again to reach the children, but was forced to retreat in the face of dense smoke and flame. At that point, the fire was free-burning as the roof had been burned away.
Ichesco said the fire jumped from a stove in the apartment of resident Trinda Mitchell to the wall behind the appliance. It went behind the cabinets above, into the wall and into the stairwell that separated the kitchen from the living room. The stairwell acted as a chimney, as did the space between the wall studs, sending the flames to the attic within five to seven minutes.
Mitchell's three children were trapped upstairs as the stairwell was their only way down.
Once in the attic, Ichesco said, the fire "ran the length of the attic, from north to south, like a train through a tunnel" pushed by a wind from the north. Ichesco said the fire was also fed by natural gas, as the gas regulators on the side of the building failed due to direct fire.
Calls for assistance went out to Ypsilanti Township, Pittsfield Township and Superior Township fire departments. Assistance was also provided by Ypsilanti police and the Department of Public Works. Still, the building, which held five apartment units and a gathering center, was gutted.
Ichesco said Mitchell told him she had been cooking and had gone next door to get an ingredient she was missing. He said although the handles were burnt off the stove, investigation showed the back burner was in the "on" position. A partially burnt pan was found on the floor nearby.
Upon returning to her apartment and seeing the flames, Mitchell, who said she had been gone less than 10 minutes, tried repeatedly to enter the home and rescue her children.
Emergency personnel transported Mitchell, who is pregnant, to University of Michigan Hospitals where she was treated for smoke inhalation and kept for observation due to her pregnancy.
Ichesco said the children were found in and near a closet in an upstairs bedroom. They were identified as Destiny Renee Mitchell, 7; Christopher Collin Barginere II, 5; and Legend N. Lyle-Mitchell, 1.
Ichesco said the building met the codes of the time it was built and had recently been hard-wired for smoke detectors with battery backup. He attributed the dense smoke that was seen for miles to burning hydrocarbons in furnishings, insulation and roofing materials.
Ichesco said the building was as safe as it could be without major renovations.
"One sprinkler would have controlled this and probably put it out."
The building was built before sprinkler systems were required.
Walter Norris, director of the Ypsilanti Housing Commission said he and his staff were "in absolute shock."
"This is sheer anguish," he said. "We are trying to comfort families that can't be comforted. This is an unspeakable loss.
"I have seen fires before but I have never seen a fire move like this one."
Norris said he and his staff had immediately begun making arrangements for the displaced families and to set up a place for donations.
Norris explained the housing commission is a separate "body politic" from the city by state statute and has its own insurance. He said an adjuster would be coming to assess the damage.
"The majority of the building, if not all of it, will have to be torn down," Norris said.
He said any building put up as a replacement would follow the latest building and safety codes.
The building did not have a Certificate of Occupancy, but Norris said that was because stoops needed to be repaired and there was grading work that needed to be done around foundations.
"Inside, we passed every inspection," Norris said.
Kathleen Conat is a long-time Ypsilanti resident and freelance writer for the Courier. She can be reached through editor@ypsilanticourier.com.
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