SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — After returning home from preaching at Garden City United Methodist Church, Pastor Larry Dickens II decided to take a nap. His wife and children were not at home at the time but thankfully, a neighbor saw that Dickens had returned home, so as she was calling 911, she was yelling for him to get out.
"I did smell smoke once I came down to my main level and I started to see a little smoke coming through the walls," Dickens told 7 Action News Monday as he and his family were salvaging what they could from the townhouse in Southfield where they have lived in for about five years.
The fire happened shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday at Sutton Place Apartments on Nine Mile Road near Lahser.
There were no reported injuries at that time or when the fire rekindled Monday morning in the empty apartment building that is adjacent to six townhouses, including the one in which the Dickens family resided.
Their home was destroyed but Dickens said thankfully, firefighters were able to save their cat Sweet Pea.
"We had to get her out and she was hiding and they kept saying we can't see her," he said.
Dickens said he was able to tell firefighters were to find Sweet Pea. It was her favorite hiding spot — under the bed in the master bedroom.
In another one of the townhouses, Monica Payne had just returned home from running an errand when neighbors alerted her and her family to get out, which they were able to quickly do with their little dog Music.
Two previous fires nearby are what prompted Payne to prepare for the possibility of another blaze.
"I have fire blankets. I have fire extinguishers on each floor prior," she said, adding that she even purchased fire ladders for her family to get out if they were ever on the second floor when a fire started.
The two previous fires included one in the very same apartment building that caught fire Sunday.
No one was currently living in the building, but construction was ongoing to make repairs from a kitchen fire in December 2020 that forced people living in eight units to move.
That multiple dwelling apartment building is adjacent to the townhouses.
That 2020 fire was caused by someone cooking. Then there was another fire in a unit across the parking lot where cooking was also to blame.
"Never leave cooking unattended. One of the suggestions I have is set your timer for short intervals," Southfield Fire Marshal Michael Albo said.
Albo said don't cook if you're drinking or drowsy. He also urges people to keep an oven mitt on one of their hands to help remind them that they have something on the stove or in the oven.
Fire investigators are still trying to determine a cause of Sunday's devastating fire and the American Red Cross is assisting until those affected can relocate.
"It smells just like an electrical fire," Dickens said. "I've witnessed it before."
