2 dead in house fire on Detroit's east side

Detroit — Arson investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire in a home early Friday morning on Detroit's east side that killed two people.

One victim was a woman in her 90s and the other was a man in his 50s, said James Harris, the Detroit Fire Department community relations chief and public information officer.

The Detroit Fire Department thinks they were related but does not know how, Harris said.

The fire began around 5:08 a.m. in a single-family, two-story home on the 3400 block of East Kirby Street. It was extinguished by 6 a.m., Harris said. The second story and rear of the structure sustained significant damage from the fire.

The two victims were the only people in the house at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but the Detroit Fire Department's arson team is currently on the scene, Harris said.

"Our arson team is on the scene as we speak doing a thorough investigation, we're in the preliminary stages," Harris said.

hmackay@detroitnews.com