DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Fire Department said Tuesday morning's deadly fire on San Juan Drive was electrical in nature and accidental.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report:
As the family grieves the death of 45-year-old Wendy Doucette, a loved one who escaped, tells 7 News Detroit she’s thankful for the efforts neighbors made in coming to her family’s rescue.
Related Story: Woman dead, 5 hospitalized after house fire on Detroit's west side
Haylee Block said screams filled the home that morning and were heard loud and clear through thick black smoke.
“I heard my son screaming for me. I heard him crying and choking and coughing on the smoke and then his screams just stopped," Block recalled.
“I kept on running up and down the steps and tried to make it into the kitchen, cause I heard my mother-in-law and my little sister screaming for help," she said.
Block and her fíance, who lived in the basement, pushed their baby daughter out the basement window after neighbors helped them break the glass.
But blinded and choked by the smoke, they were unable to locate their toddler.
That’s when a heroic neighbor, Timothy Davis, busted open the side door. That action freed the adults from the home and he rushed in to rescue the three-year-old who was unconscious on the kitchen floor.
Block said, “The gentleman who put his life at risk to save my son, I want to say thank you so much. God bless you, because I could not save my son, and you did that for me. So, thank you so much.”
Firefighters rescued 14-year-old Ni'Zah Doucette, who we're told is in critical condition.
But sadly, the fire claimed her mother's life. It’s believed 45-year-old Wendy Doucette was trying to free her dog from its cage but was overtaken by smoke, killing her and her dog.
Sara Shufford, a longtime friend and godmother to Wendy's children, drove from Atlanta when hearing the tragic news and started this Gofundme to help the family get back on its feet.
She said, “Wendy was fun. She laughed. She smiled. She told it like it was, and she had the biggest heart in the world. She took in anybody. She didn’t care who you were.”
Shufford tells 7 News Detroit 14-year-old Ni'Zah has burns on 53 percent of her body.
“She’s got a really long road, and she is gonna have skin grafts and surgeries and she’s on a ventilator right now. Her lungs aren’t strong enough to breathe on their own. There’s a lot of damage to her lungs," she explained.
She pleaded, “I just hope everybody can wrap their arms around my god babies. They need all the love and support they can get right now. They just lost everything. Literally everything. They have nothing. So we have to rebuild. I’m going to be here to hold their hand every step of the way.”
If you’d like to donate to their GoFundMe, click here.
