Fire breaks out in Michigan complex
WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - April 9, 2008 All 200 residents from two connected buildings were evacuated by
early afternoon, police and fire officials said.
Video footage showed firefighters carrying people down ladders
from balconies of the Lillian & Samuel Hechtman Jewish Apartments
in West Bloomfield Township, about 20 miles northwest of Detroit.
Some people were seen waiting for help on balconies as smoke
poured from the sprawling building. Firefighters were walking on
the roof, creating vents as they worked to extinguish the blaze.
Smoke turned from gray to black, and flames were visible near the
top of the building.
Assistant Fire Chief Ray Riggs said the fire is believed to have
started in a third-floor boiler room. He said one section of the
building was extensively damaged. Some people reported suffering
from smoke inhalation and chest pains, he said.
The independent-living complex is part of the nonprofit Jewish
Apartments and Services, which serves about 900 elderly residents
and their families, according to its Web site.
The residents do not require around-the-clock assistance, and
two-thirds drive their own cars, said Marsha Goldsmith Kamin,
executive director of Jewish Apartments and Services.
The residents were taken to another apartment building on the
150-acre campus of agencies affiliated with the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit, Kamin said.
Sue Lazar, an office manager at the affiliated Jewish Hospice
and Chaplaincy Network, says all available employees were called to
the scene to help residents.
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