Detroit City Council Pro Tem Brown and the committee voiced concerns on fire preparedness, fire response and electric utility safety at the Wednesday hearing. (Photo by HB Meeks/Tell Us Detroit)

Detroit Officials Address Cause of September Firestorm

By Karen Hudson Samuels/Tell Us Detroit

The cause of the fire storms that spread through Detroit neighborhoods three weeks ago was addressed by officials from DTE, the Detroit Fire Department, and the Detroit Police Department Wednesday in a public City Council hearing.

Many factors, including illegal hookups, downed power lines, response time, line clearance and communication were examined to determine their role in the September 7th fire storm that destroyed 71 structures and 29 occupied homes.

The President of DTE Energy, Steve Kurmas told council members strong winds resulted in more than 650 downed power lines, 450 of being in Detroit.

The Detroit Fire Department reported that eight fire locations were related to downed power lines, however, Kurmas said this could not be confirmed due to the extent of fire damage. DTE’s investigation Karmas said found that almost half of the reported downed wires were not those of Detroit Edison.

Community activists blamed poor response time to citizen complaints of downed lines as one cause of the city wide fires. DTE’s Kurmas addressed this concern which had been reported by the media. He explained that the call was for flicking lights, not a safety hazard. Kurmas said DTE responds to thousands of calls of downed power lines every year.



The question of response times and communication among first responders lead into discussion of the internal operations of DTE and the Detroit Fire Department. Both groups explained that the extraordinary events that lead to the fires cut into their average response times.

Kurmas said DTE gets to downed power lines within two hours; on September 7th they received some 300 reports of downed lines. But DTE, as part of its operation looks at forecasts of severe weather and so was able to marshal 1,300 employees into the field on September 7th and 2,300 the next day.

Detroit Fire Commissioner James Mack, speaking to Council said his department gets 80 fire calls on a normal day, that number rose to 284 calls and peaked at 591 during the firestorm. Among the calls were those for downed power lines.

Since the fires, the Fire Department, DTE and the Mayor’s office are working to improve pre-storm communication, reports of downed wires and coordinating dispatches with 911 centers.

A hotline number, 313-224-3740 has been set up for residents impacted by the fires to get information on resources and support services. No federal FEMA funds could be pursued to help displace homeowners because the level of damage did not meet the threshold for funds.