April 13, 2010
Mr. Fraser,
Below is an informational summary of the fire which occurred at 928 South State Street on the
morning of April 3, 2010 resulting in one victim fatality. Our investigation is still on going but I asked
Fire Marshall to prepare a summary of events and information thus far that could be shared with you,
council and Chief Jones. Ann Arbor Fire and police are still completing investigation of this incident
and by no means is a final or complete report, rather a summary to update and inform.
Should you have any questions or anyone to whom you distribute the information to have questions
please have them contact my office.
Sincerely,
Dominick J. Lanza
Fire Chief


Summary:

911 call came in from a passerby at 05:16. He reported a garbage bag buming on the front porch of
928 S. State.

Initial:
By 5:18 the nearby couch was buming and by 05:19 the deck of the porch was buming, audIble
interior smoke alarms were sounding, and the fire was spreading upwards and into the roof. All
attempts were made to alert and evacuate the interior occupants.
At 05:21 reports indicated that the whole front of the house was burning and the fire was spreading
quickly. Smoke alarms on the interior were audible.
Fire arrival 05:23. Responsibilities included patient care, evacuation, and search for victims. Fire
extinguishment, ventilation, salvage and overhaul, scene preservation for cause and origin
investigation.

The fire investigation has complied the following information, in brief:
The fire was first noticed in the comer of the porch. It was a trash fire in a waste container. Fire built
and spread to the adjacent sofa (positioned across the front of the residence windows on the porch).
From there the fire continued to build from the ready fuel load of the sofa, building up heat and
spreading to the structure itself. The balloon construction and numerous paint layers contributed to
the fire spread, changing fire from incipient to growth phase rapidly. The fire breached the front
adjacent interior room from the porch.

Attempts to alert the residents resulted in the entry door to the first floor unit being left open, allowing
the fire to spread to the inside, building heat and smoke down the hallway. The attempted evacuation
of the upstairs residents via the front stairs left the entry door to the upstairs unit open, permitting fire
to gain access to the second floor unit via the stairwell. The windows left open by the evacuation on
the second level in the rear of the structure, drew the heat, fire, and smoke up through the structure in
a chimney effect.

Investigation supported witness reports of the fire origin and progression.
Students had been partying on the front porch within two hours of the fire being reported.
Considerable smoking paraphernalia was found in the residence, which could indicate that smoking
may have occurred on the porch before the fire. The report was that they had gone to sleep
approximately two hours before the fire broke out.

At this time the initial ignition of the contents in the waste container is not determined. It is under
continued investigation. An accelerant dog did not hit on any accelerants in the area of origin. At this
time there has not been any evidence to indicate that this fire was deliberately set. Samples have
been collected and are being processed at the Northville State Police Crime Lab. We are awaiting
their results to see if they pick up on any "foreign" material.

Occupants:
At the time of the fire is appears that there were two resident occupants in the basement apartment.
Both exited without incident.

The first floor unit had three resident occupants. Two exited without incident via the rear exit. One of
these two had been active in alerting the other residents after he himself was alerted by the passerby
who made the original 911 call. The third occupant was difficult to awaken and eventually exited
through the front doorway, through the fire, as Fire apparatus was arriving on the scene. He was on
fire and ran across the street in front of arriving apparatus. He was attended to by Fire personnel,
extinguished and cared for until HVA arrival. He was transported to the hospital where he passed
away approximately 12 hours later.

The second floor unit had one occupant that evacuated apparently without injury. A second occupant
and his visiting girlfriend attempted to exit via the stairs and front. They encountered fire and were not
able to pass, retreated and were evacuated via the upper rear windows. He sustained smoke
inhalation, was treated and released that day. She received bums on her legs and is a patient at UM
Bum Center, where she is recovering from her injuries.