Authorities: Illegal electricity hookup at small Detroit hotel where fire killed 1, injured 2

Illegal electric hookup at fatal Detroit fire site

DETROIT — An early-morning fire gutted a small hotel on the city’s east side Thursday where an illegal electrical hookup was being used for power, killing a man and injuring two other people, authorities said.

Space heaters also were being used for warmth at the two-story, 14-room Paris Hotel, which the area’s utility said hadn’t had legal service since early last year. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

“It can work, but how long can it work,” Detroit Fire Department Capt. Steve Varnas said of the hookup.

A message was left Thursday afternoon for owner Manuel Casey, who said earlier that he wasn’t aware of illegal service. He said six longer-term hotel residents who paid weekly or monthly rates were living on the hotel’s second floor.

Casey said at least one person jumped from the second floor to escape. He said he wasn’t sure whether first-floor rooms, which are available for stays of a few hours, were occupied.

“It spread pretty rapidly,” Casey said.

One man was in critical condition Thursday and another person suffered a slight burn, Varnas said. Investigators were looking at “all causes,” he said, and the owner was being cooperative.

“It’s a family business,” Varnas said. “A lot of long-term residents.”

Relatively thin wires were found connecting the building with power lines, Varnas said. He said investigators were told there was a problem with power going out about a month ago and the hookup was repaired.

It’s not the first such incident in Detroit, where many struggle with finances, job losses and paying bills. On March 2, a fire at a home with unauthorized gas and electrical service killed three children. A Jan. 5 fire claimed three lives in a house where illegally accessed electricity was used to power space heaters.

“It’s not just a residential problem,” DTE Energy Co. spokesman Scott Simons said. “It’s a commercial or business problem too.”

The Detroit-based utility said it hadn’t provided electrical service to the hotel’s location since early 2009 and was investigating. Energy theft cost DTE and its customers about $100 million last year.

In front of the charred building, the Paris Hotel’s sign advertising “Your Home Away From Home” still stood. Casey, 35, said the hotel had been run by his family since 1952 and insurance had lapsed on the building.

“It’s sad and tragic,” Casey said.