1 dead in Sterling Heights house fire

Sterling Heights — A 57-year-old man is dead following a morning house fire, according to city officials.

The city’s fire department responded to the fire on the 37000 block of Andrew Drive shortly after 11 a.m. Friday and discovered heavy smoke emitting from the single-family home.

Inside, firefighters found the body of the man, who lived alone, Sterling Heights Fire Chief Chris Martin said. There were no batteries in the home’s smoke detectors.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the fire started either in the living room or in the room below it.

Martin declined to speculate whether a working smoke detector could have saved the man’s life since he could have had a medical emergency.

“I can’t say whether it would have mattered,” Martin said, “but the odds are very good.”

Martin did not put a dollar figure on damages caused to the house, but said it suffered “significant” structural and smoke damage.

Sterling Heights Police and Fire Marshal were also on scene.

KKozlowski@detroitnews.com