PETERSBURG, Mich.— An early morning house fire in Petersburg, Mich., left a 12-year-old boy dead and two family members injured, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
At about 1:30 a.m. Monday, Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies and members of the Summerfield Township Fire Department responded to a home in the 100 block of West Walnut Street for a fire with reports of a child trapped inside.
“What woke me up was all the commotion,” said Tom Lehr, who lives next door to the home that caught fire. “My son’s in the house, so I got him up just in case we needed to get out... the back of my house is like, 20 feet from the corner of their garage, if that.”
Upon arrival, crews discovered the unattached garage of the home was engulfed in flames, as well as a nearby boat. Several family members were attempting to break in to rescue the trapped child, Malaki Giles.
After making entry into the garage, firefighters found the boy deceased in a bathroom. His father, 37, and brother, 13, both suffered burns while attempting to break the garage open, and were treated and released from a Toledo-area hospital.
“I know the dad and the son, they were burnt from trying to get in [the garage],” Mr. Lehr said, tears welling up in his eyes. “But they couldn’t get in.”
Malaki was a fifth-grade student at Summerfield Elementary School, Summerfield Schools Superintendent Scott Salow said in a letter posted on the district’s Facebook page.
“There are no words to express the loss of this sweet boy who had his whole life ahead of him,” wrote Mr. Salow, who also expressed “the heaviest of hearts and great sadness” over the “tragic loss.”
“During his short time at Summerfield, he touched students and staff with his gentle spirit, kind heart and bright smile,” Mr. Salow wrote.
Mr. Salow said Monday evening that he was extending his thoughts and prayers to Malaki's family.
“Obviously in a small community, it sends shockwaves through the entire school district and the community,” Mr. Salow said by telephone.
“It's a loss that will be felt for quite a long time in a way that most school districts hope that they never have to deal with -- burying a 12-year-old kid at the prime of his life,” Mr. Salow added.
Tom Roberts, who lives across the street from the home, said firefighters were putting out the flames for nearly an hour. His wife, Lisa Roberts, said the whole street was filled with fire trucks.
The heat from the flames had caused the siding on the front of the house to curl forward, and the garage was reduced to charred rubble. The air still smelled like smoke, even 10 hours after the fire began.
“That’s just something,” Mr. Roberts said, peering through his window at the blackened carcass of a garage across the street. “It’s terrible.”
“They’re very good people,” Mrs. Roberts said of her neighbors, her husband echoing the sentiment.
Mr. Lehr also saw the street filled with fire trucks and ambulances. He didn’t watch when they removed the body.
“I didn’t see them wheel him out or anything,” Mr. Lehr said. “I knew it was going on, I knew it wasn’t good, because my neighbor told me. I asked if he got out, and he said no.”
A tear rolled down Mr. Lehr’s cheek as he tried to keep his composure.
“He’s in the same grade as my son,” Mr. Lehr said of the child who died in the fire. “I took the kids to school and back a few times. We talked every day.”
The Monroe County Fire Investigation Team is still investigating the cause of the fire as of late Monday morning. Anyone with information should call the sheriff’s office detective bureau at 734-240-7530.
First Published June 20, 2022, 3:06 p.m.
