In Detroit’s west side, a devastating house fire tore through a home in the 20000 block of San Juan Drive just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, claiming the life of Wendy Doucette and leaving a family and community reeling. The inferno, which filled the home with thick, choking black smoke, tested the courage of neighbors who became heroes in a desperate race against time. Five survivors, including a 1-year-old baby, were pulled from the flames, but the loss of Doucette, believed to be the grandmother of the young children, cast a heavy shadow over the bravery displayed.
The fire erupted with ferocious speed, trapping six people inside the home near the intersection of Livernois Avenue and Eight Mile Road. Neighbors, hearing screams for help, sprang into action before firefighters could arrive. T.J. Davis, a local resident, emerged as a beacon of courage. “When I kicked in the door, it was full of smoke. Thick black smoke,” he recounted, his voice heavy with the weight of the moment. Crawling through the haze, Davis rescued a toddler from the floor and then braved the kitchen to save another young boy. His quick thinking and selfless actions helped ensure that two children—a 3-year-old and a 14-year-old—made it out, though both remain in critical condition at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
Angela Boone, another neighbor, played a vital role in the rescue. “They gave me the baby,” she said, recalling the chaotic scene. “That’s when I saw the other boy and said, ‘We need crowbars!’” The mother of the 1-year-old, who was in the basement when the fire broke out, handed her baby to safety through a window. The infant, miraculously, is expected to recover, as is the mother. An adult man in the home managed to escape on his own, while three others were treated for smoke inhalation and burns. But Wendy Doucette, hampered by mobility issues, could not escape the flames that engulfed the first floor. Firefighters, arriving in just four minutes, found her body amid the wreckage, a heartbreaking loss for the family and community.
The neighborhood’s response was nothing short of heroic. Jay Goode, a witness to the rescue efforts, praised a neighbor who risked everything to save lives. “The real hero is my neighbor,” Goode said, his voice thick with emotion. “He came and knocked the door in. No one’s a hero today, but he’s a hero in heart that saved the rest of the family.” As smoke billowed and flames roared, residents called for tools, flagged down drivers, and rallied together, proving the strength of community in the face of tragedy.
This was the second fatal fire to strike Detroit’s west side that morning, a grim coincidence that left the Detroit Fire Department stretched thin. Just an hour earlier, another blaze on Clippert Street claimed the life of a man and his dog, with a second dog rescued. The department’s mental health unit was dispatched to the San Juan Drive scene, offering support to first responders grappling with the emotional toll of back-to-back tragedies. “A rare occurrence,” said Dennis Richardson, chief of Detroit’s fire investigation division. “We have not had a fatal fire for a while in the city.”
As investigators comb through the charred remains of the San Juan Drive home, the cause of the fire remains a mystery. The Detroit Fire Department continues its meticulous work, piecing together clues to understand what sparked the blaze that stole Wendy Doucette’s life and left two children fighting for theirs. For now, the community mourns, but the stories of courage—from T.J. Davis crawling through smoke to Angela Boone cradling a rescued infant—shine as a testament to the unyielding spirit of Detroit’s west side. In the face of unimaginable loss, neighbors became family, risking everything to save those they could.
