New fire burns abandoned home in Detroit

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Some of the Detroit firefighters who battled the dozens of fires that tore apart neighborhoods on Tuesday afternoon were back out again Thursday.

They were battling a fire at an abandoned two family home on Detroit's east side. The cause of that fire is under investigation. No one was hurt.

This new fire comes as dozens of Detroiters are still dealing with the aftermath of the fires that destroyed more than 80 homes in the city on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Mayor Dave Bing held a news conference to address the fires that broke out in the city Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters battled at least 85 fires.

IF YOU WERE AFFECTED BY THE FIRES AND NEED HELP YOU CAN CALL THE CITY AT (313) 224-3740 OR THE RED CROSS AT 1 (800) 774-6066

During the news conference, Mayor Bing thanked the brave men and women in the Detroit Fire Department who responded to the fires.

He also thanked units who assisted from neighboring communities. Mayor Bing expressed sympathy to those who lost their homes to the fires and called the situation a 'natural disaster.' 

Detroit Fire Commissioner James Mack addressed questions from reporters who asked how all of these fires started. Commissioner Mack said the high winds and the downed wires played a major role in the outbreak of the house fires. However, he says at least two fires may have been the work of an arsonist.

Detroit's Fire Commissioner told Action News fires were burning at 85 locations between 4:00pm and 8:00pm Tuesday. No word on how many homes and buildings were destroyed. Many of the destroyed homes were abandoned. The Fire Commissioner says it was "firestorm of fires."

Several investigations remain ongoing.

Some of the worst damage is on the city's east side.  At least 20 homes burned in the area of Robinwood and Van Dyke.  The fire spread across the city block to Robinwood Street. Firefighters say it’s possible the blazes in this neighborhood were ignited by a faulty transformer spraying sparks. Those sparks were carried by strong winds and started fires at a number of other houses.

Folks on the block say they alerted DTE to the problem last week and nothing was done. Action News contacted DTE and they tell us they are investigating those claims.

Meanwhile, on Moenart Street and Luce Avenue near Mound and McNichols 7 homes caught fire.

An abandoned commercial building also burned near Chene and Hendrie on the city's east side.

On Detroit's west side four homes burned on Stoepel near Livernois and Margareta Avenue.

The Fire Commissioner told Action News during the height of the fires 236 firefighters were working. One firefighter was injured during the afternoon.

Strong winds are to blame for fueling many of the fires. The winds may also have prompted the flames. The Detroit Fire Department took calls on 140 wires down across the city from 8:00am to 5:00pm Tuesday.

Thousands of people are still without power because of the strong winds.