Fatal fire site had no fire detectors

TEXAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - The fire that killed four children Saturday morning could have been caused by the children playing with a cigarette lighter, the family said.

The renter of the house, Kalamazoo native Patricia Jordan, told 24 Hour News 8 she removed the smoke detectors because "something was wrong with them."

Jordan lost her job as a nurse in Detroit and moved back to West Michigan. She rented the home, 6835 N Ave., in Texas Township, then moved to California.

While she was there, some family members were living in the rented house, including her children and grandchildren.

The four children who died are Kianna Bracken, 2, Deontae Vaughn, 4, Zion Bryant, 4, and Daniel Adams, 6.

Daniela Adams and Vernon Bryant remain hospitalized. Adams is in critical condition and Bryant is in serious condition.

Bryant is in good condition considering the circumstances, his mother said.

This is not the first time there have been problems at the house.

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department has been called there several times within the past year for non-life threatening issues such as disturbances.

There were 15 people in the house Saturday morning. Two of them, Zion and Vernon Bryant were visiting from Indianapolis.

The others are from Kalamazoo. There is not a renters ordinance in Texas Township, so because everyone in the house is related, there is no limit on how many people can live there, said Dave Healy, the township supervisor.

The fire was the first fatal blaze in Texas Township since 1954, when someone at a home died of smoke inhalation.