Elderly woman, 96, dies in Northville condo fire - KMSP-TV

A condominium fire in Northville Township on Monday took the life of an elderly woman.  A maintenance man tried to save her, but the intense flames made it impossible.

Northville Township Public Safety was on scene within minutes of Marsh Vinson calling 9-1-1.  The maintenance man at King's Mill had been changing the smoke detectors at a townhouse on Jamestown Circle when he heard the smoke alarm going off next door.

"I went over there and pounded on the door and no answer," Vinson explained.  "I went in and I saw the flames.  I couldn't get in.  They were bad.  I was kind of scared to get in there.  I didn't know what to do, so I figured knock on people's doors and call 9-1-1."

It was around 10:10 a.m. Monday.  Vinson alerted neighbors are got them out safely.

Eight homes were damaged by fire or smoke.  Sadly, 96-year-old Emily Miller was found dead in her bed.  She had talked to relatives just an hour earlier and told them she wasn't feeling well and was going to lie down.

Firefighters are investigating and trying to determine how the fire started.  Was it in the kitchen where there were so many flames or perhaps in the living room where she often smoked her cigarettes?

"When our department arrived, the flames were engulfed and coming out the window," said Northville Township Public Safety Director John Werth.

"There were just flames right where she sits usually," Vinson said.

"The kitchen area was fully engulfed.  We do have some bystanders that have said she's a heavy smoker.  The investigators will work this case and we'll come to a conclusion of what actually happened," Werth explained.

It is the first deadly fire in Northville Township since 1978.  Residents are sadden by the loss of an elderly neighbor that was still pretty spunky despite being 96 years old.

"We were also saying she's probably up there looking down at all of us with her cat in her arms saying, man, I went out with a bang.  Look at all those people over here looking for me," said neighbor Marge Poupard.

"She was a sweetheart," Vinson remarked.