SODUS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Investigators are looking for answers after a fire at a St. Joseph-area motel took the lives of a mother and five of her children over the weekend.
Residents who claim the fire alarms didn't go off at the Comso Extended Stay Motel on M-139 in Sodus Township also want answers.
“(The smoke) was blowing out this end bad. The only reason we got out is 'cause we went out the glass door," said resident Billy Smith, who returned to the motel Monday after being treated for smoke inhalation.
Smith and his wife have lived in their $700-per-month room at the Cosmo for about a year and a half. He said he has always had concerns about fire safety. He said that when he moved in, he told the manager about wires coming from the wall where a smoke detector should have been.
“He said he'd have it fixed. I've been here a year and a half and it never has been fixed.” Smith said.
Twenty-six-year-old Kiarre Curtis, 10-year-old Marquise Thompson, 7-year-old Gerome Randolph, 5-year-old Samuel Curtis, 4-year-old Savod Curtis and 2-year-old Avery Curtis died in the fire that sparked around 1:45 a.m. Saturday, all due to smoke inhalation. Curtis’ husband and their 1-year-old child were able to escape.
Authorities say the cause of the fire was likely accidental. A main focus of the investigation now is why so many residents say the buildingwide fire alarms didn't go off.
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