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Motel previously had no working fire alarms, report from state fire marshal says

Posted at 6:05 AM, Jul 31, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-31 06:42:15-04

SODUS TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- A new report is showing some alarming details about the motel which caught fire over the weekend in Berrien County that claimed the lives of a mother and her five children.

Kiarre Curtis, and five of her young children died in the fire. The kids' father, and the youngest daughter escaped.

An inspection report obtained from the state's fire marshal shows the hotel previously failed inspection for not having a working fire alarm system and allegedly locking the doors at night because of a string of thefts.

Documents also show Sodus Township supervisor David Chandler had complained about the motel to the fire marshal back in 2016 saying he didn't know who owned the property since it was being used as a halfway house for paroles and was under federal receivership for unpaid taxes.

The motel was ordered to fix its fire alarm system which it did three months later. The motel was then ordered to make sure its fire extinguishers were certified by a licensed company.

We did reach out to both the township supervisor and a representative from the motel but have not yet heard back.