Man dies in VBT apartment fire on May 24

A man was found dead in his bed at Bellridge Apartments early Saturday morning after residents noticed smoke gathering in the hallways and called Van Buren Township 911.
The man, who was 20 years old, was expected to be positively identified by the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office after an autopsy.
At 3:55 a.m. Saturday, the VBT Public Safety Department was dispatched to the 41000 block of Bellridge Drive (near Independence and Haggerty roads, north of I-94) for an activated smoke alarm, according to a news release from Fire Chief Dan Besson.
Engine 2, Ladder 1, Engine 2, Engine 3, Rescue 1, and Utility 1, along with several patrol cars, responded to the call, Chief Besson said.
While crews were responding, it was reported that a ground-floor apartment was well-involved with fire and the windows were beginning to break out.
Engine 2 and Ladder 1 arrived at the scene at 4:05 a.m. and found VBT police assisting evacuation of residents of the building. Police had been pushed back by the fire and heat coming from the apartment, Besson said.
Firefighters entered the apartment to put out the fire and searched for possible occupants. Moments after entering the apartment fire crews discovered an occupant, who was still lying in bed, deceased.
Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the fire to prevent it from spreading to other apartments and the scene was brought under control at 04:52 a.m., Besson said.
The fire started in the first-floor apartment where the kitchen, dining room and living room were located, but the man was found in his bedroom, near a window and may have been trying to escape, officials said.
There were about a dozen VBT fire fighters, along with a cross-trained VBT police officer. They were aided by the Michigan State Police, and the City of Belleville Fire Department.
Information about the deceased person, a male, was withheld pending positive identification by the Medical Examiner and notification of the next of kin. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Michigan State Police.
No other injuries were reported. One family, displaced by the fire, was assisted by the VBT Department of Public Safety’s Chaplain Program.
There are about 12 apartments in the three-story building. Preliminary fire loss is estimated at $75,000.