5 Restaurant Co-Workers Die in Novi House Fire

NOVI, MI – Five people who worked together at a restaurant died Sunday after a fire broke out in the basement of a home in a Novi subdivision.

Firefighters arrived at the residence, located in the 23000 block of Mystic Forest Drive, about 9:30 a.m. Sunday and saw smoke coming from the basement.

Investigators said all five victims were in the basement, the Detroit Free Press and WXYZ-TV report. The responders tried unsuccessfully to revive two of the victims.

A witness, Kurt Kiler, told The Detroit News that he and other neighbors felt helpless as they watched smoke billowing from the home.

“We watched. We couldn’t do much of anything,” said Kilar, 51. “This is a first for us in the 18 years we’ve been here. Nothing tragic like this has ever happened in the neighborhood.”

It’s unclear how the victims died, or how the fire started. Autopsies will be performed Monday by the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Novi Fire Department is conducting an investigation into the fire’s origins.

Novi Public Safety Chief David Molloy told the Free Press the victims worked at a local Asian restaurant and may have only stayed “occasionally” at the residence. They were in their 20s, witnesses said.

Due to extensive damage from the fire, contained mostly to the basement but also resulting in smoke damage on the main floor, identifying the victims could take time, Malloy said.

» Screenshot via WXYZ-TV