No adults or smoke detectors were found at the property where three children died. A neighbor of the three children who were killed during a tragic house fire in suburban Detroit has described the situation as a “nightmare.”. The three siblings — a 16-year-old girl and two boys aged 15 and 12 — could not escape the fire on Sunday night, officials said. One of the siblings called 911 to report the fire. When firefighters arrived they had to force their way into the home. No adults were present at the time, and investigators found no smoke detectors, Byron Turnquist, fire marshal in West Bloomfield Township, where the house is located, said.
![[Three children tragically died in a house fire in the Detroit-area. When investigators arrived they found no adults or smoke detectors.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/04/14/32/AP25034659282272.jpeg)
"These are two parents whose children are never going to see them again. They're two parents who are very hard-working people, who care about their kids, who are never going to see their kids ever again, who are never going to have the chance to have a chat with their kids,” Fayad added. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but Turnquist said it started on the first floor, according to 7 News Detroit.
![[A neighbor who saw the blaze described the situation as a “nightmare.”]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/04/14/57/AP25034659227522.jpg)
"Having working smoke alarms gives you that early notification to exit your home," he told The Associated Press. "There was so much smoke on the street we couldn't even breathe, so imagine children being in the house. I'm sure they couldn't either," said Jewelette Estes, who lives in the neighborhood. One teen was a junior at West Bloomfield High School while the other two victims attended school outside the district, West Bloomfield school officials said in a letter to families.
