GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A state watchdog group is opening an investigation to examine how Child Protective Services handled interactions with the family of a 2-year-old girl who was killed in a house fire.
The Office of Children Ombudsman will look into whether CPS acted appropriately and followed policy as well as if they could have done anything differently to better protect the child. The investigation shows CPS had contact with the family sometime in the past two years.
The investigation comes a day after the girl was killed in a fire at a house in the 200 block of Dale Street NE, west of Plainfield Avenue.
Fire officials said the girl was in a bedroom at the back of the house. Family members and firefighters knew she was there, but couldn't get through the flames to rescue her.
The house has two apartments in it. The people who live in the upper unit weren't there when the fire sparked. A family of six, including four children, were in the lower unit.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.