Christopher Kreitzbender and his roommate were sleeping on two different levels in their townhouse in Detroit's Midtown when the smoke alarms began blaring. Moments later, the two men saw smoke.
"The fire alarms were going off," said Loren Wolfe. "Fire alarms saved my life."
The two men began to head for a window when Kreitzbender decided to turn back toward the smoke and flames to grab his wallet and phone were on the kitchen table.
He says it was like a knee-jerk reaction to grab the items. Once outside, the Wayne State student realized just how the risky move could have cost him his life.
Wolfe, who was standing on an overhang after climbing out of a window, kept calling for Kreitzbender.
Kreitzbender says he could only find his way out by hearing his roommate's voice.
Their unit was destroyed. Six other townhouses were damaged by either fire, smoke or water.
The Detroit Arson Task Force is trying to determine just how the fire started, but they are not yet calling it suspicious.
