1 dead, 2 injured in fire in Lansing's West Side neighborhood

Krystal Nurse, Lansing State Journal
·2 min read

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Nikole Surdu's name.

LANSING — One person is dead and two others were hospitalized after a fire at a home in the city's West Side neighborhood Monday morning.

Two people escaped to the roof of the two-story rental home after fire blocked their exit, then jumped to the ground, Assistant Lansing Fire Chief Mike Tobin said Monday afternoon. A third person was later found dead inside the house, he said.

Officials did not immediately release the name of the person who died or any details about the three victims. The conditions of the two people who escaped the burning structure were unclear. The cause of the fire was undetermined on Monday afternoon, Tobin said.

Lansing fire officials said one person died in a fire at a home in the 500 block of Rulison Street in Lansing on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.
Lansing fire officials said one person died in a fire at a home in the 500 block of Rulison Street in Lansing on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.

Neighbors called 911 after hearing loud noises and seeing smoke at a home in the 500 block of Rulison Street about 8:35 a.m. Some callers reported seeing heavy smoke as they were driving on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Tobin said.

Firefighters encountered heavy fire on the first floor, with flames extending into the second floor, and had trouble getting inside, Tobin said, adding it took them about two hours to bring the blaze under control and another hour to extinguish hot spots.

Tobin described the blaze as "a very extended firefight," with "a lot of water used."

Firefighters with the Lansing Fire Department work at the scene at a fatal fire in the 500 block of Rulison in Lansing.
Firefighters with the Lansing Fire Department work at the scene at a fatal fire in the 500 block of Rulison in Lansing.

Lansing police detectives and the medical examiner's office were present on Monday, and a fire investigator remained at the scene on Monday afternoon, but determining what caused the fire could take a long time, Tobin said.

Neighbor Nikole Surdu said she was working from home and heard a loud pop go off at the two-story home. She recalled grabbing a camera and later seeing her neighbor's home fully engulfed in flames.

Nearby, Amy Stewart was listening to the police scanner and overheard a call for the home and rushed over. She said she saw a woman trying to escape from a porch roof.

"That was scary because there was flames while she was on the porch roof," Stewart said. "And there was flames shooting out and glass breaking and just a ton of smoke."

A home directly to the north sustained damage to its siding from the fire.

Firefighters with the Lansing Fire Department work at the scene at a fatal fire in the 500 block of Rulison in Lansing.
Firefighters with the Lansing Fire Department work at the scene at a fatal fire in the 500 block of Rulison in Lansing.
Firefighters with the Lansing Fire Department work at the scene at a fatal fire in the 500 block of Rulison in Lansing.
Firefighters with the Lansing Fire Department work at the scene at a fatal fire in the 500 block of Rulison in Lansing.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 1 dead, 2 injured in fire in Lansing's West Side neighborhood