(WXYZ) — More than 80 senior citizens have been displaced after a massive fire at the American House assisted living facility in Southgate on Friday night.
Watch the latest story in the video below
The fire started around 10 p.m., and thankfully, all of the residents have been accounted for and were not severely hurt. However, most had to leave with just the clothes on their back.
Those residents who used to call American House home are picking up the pieces after losing everything in the fire.
“They’re all elderly so they’re going to need a lot of help," Karen Richardson, the niece of a woman who was at the facility, told us.
Watch below: Chopper 7 video over the fire at a Southgate senior living facility
Karen's aunt, Joyce, was one of the more than 80 people who were displaced by the fire.
“There were like seven or eight different fire trucks here and the flames were just shooting way above these trees," Karen said.
She came to get her aunt after she learned about the fire.
“All she had was a night gown on and a bathrobe, she had nothing else, no shoes, no socks," she said.
The facility is on Allen Road. Officials say all of the residents and staff members were able to make it out of the building.
Joe Marsh, the public safety director for the City of Southgate, says there were some challenges when it came to evacuating the building.
“Challenges because of the, the mobility issues that we encounter from several of the residents. The senior residents, some of the residents had memory care issues," Marsh said.
He added that they had a lot of help from the community when it came to getting residents to safety.
“Citizen volunteers coming in to assist us Even our court administrator, retired police officer came in and assist us driving a a transport vehicle. So the goal was to remove people from the site to our temporary relocation center.," Marsh said.
Jodi Portice said her dad lost everything in the fire, including his medication. She says thankfully, she was able to get some of his meds from the VA in Ann Arbor.
“Anybody else who is a veteran Detroit is open all day as well as Ann Arbor, they’re open during the weekend… and since all his meds where there I was able to get everything," Portice said.
The Southgate Senior Center had been collecting donations for the displaced residents. As of Saturday afternoon, the center is requesting no additional donations.
