MUSKEGON, Mich. — Firefighters responded to a deadly house fire in Muskegon Heights Tuesday afternoon.
The initial call came in around noon, saying there was somebody trapped on the second floor of a home on West Keating.
Crews found the body of a 58-year-old man once they were able to subdue the fire and get inside.
Lane Luytjes had been out front of the home working on his neighbor's car when they began smelling smoke.
"We're working on the car, I look back and I'm like, who’s having a bonfire," his neighbor T Hatcher told FOX 17.
Bell added, “He got my tire off... and I was like, oh that’s your house, your house is on fire.”
While Bell called 911, Luytjes and Hatcher ran inside the home.
Despite their best efforts to access the bedroom on the home's second floor, the smoke and flames were too much.
"It was horrible.. I couldn’t even get close to the bedroom door," Luytjes told FOX 17.
Hatcher was somehow able to find Luytjes' pet cat inside the home— the pair were alter reunited on his front porch.
"I go in the house looking for the cat… I see the cat... I look at the cat, the cat looks at me, and we both run out," he explains.
Muskegon Heights Fire Chief Christopher Dean says there are no indications of foul play at this point in their investigation.
"There are some known potential factors out there, including smoking, that could be a factor in the fire... right now it's too early to tell the cause of the fire, or cause of death,” Chief Dean said.
The 58-year-old man who lost his life in the fire was a longtime friend of Luytjes.
Explaining, “I've known him for 20 years... good guy... he was trying to get everything together."
