Birmingham Residents Escape From House Fire on Pilgrim

Two Birmingham residents and their dog escaped safely from a house fire that damaged a home on Pilgrim Street Tuesday evening.

According to Birmingham Fire Marshal Lyal Bigger, investigators are still unsure what started the fire though officials believe it originated in the kitchen area a little before 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

"The fire was coming out the windows by the time we arrived," Bigger said.

In total, firefighters from Royal Oak, Southfield, Bloomfield Township and West Bloomfield assisted in fighting the blaze, swarming the home which is located near the intersection of Pilgrim and Redding in the northwest corner of town.

When firefighters got there, however, Bigger said said the homeowner, her son and their dog had already gotten out of the house. The pair first detected the fire, he said, when they heard a noise coming from the breezeway that separates the house from the garage.

According to Bigger, the home has heat and smoke damage throughout though the fire was largely contained to the south end of the home.

"There's a lot of damage. The heat build-up was substantial," Bigger said, adding that firefighters had a difficult time fighting the blaze due to the cold weather and intense pockets of fire. No firefighters were harmed that evening, he said.

As of Thursday afternoon, Bigger said he had not received a loss estimate from the homeowner's insurance company.