DETROIT — The Detroit home at the center of a viral controversy wasn't actually vacant when firefighters posed for a photo while it burned down.
According to reports by the New York Post and the Detroit Free Press, the homeowner is "furious."
The house, located at 611 S. Green St., has been in 21-year-old Deonte Higginbotham's family for 50 years, according to the Post. Higginbotham and his 70-year-old mother live in the home.
A group of firefighters posed in front of the burning home on New Year's Eve, and it was shared to social media that night. The photo is under investigation by the Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones after it received backlash on Facebook and Twitter.
In response, Detroit Fire claimed the home was "vacant" and according to the Detroit Free Press, "too engulfed in flames" for crews to enter.
But unlike the neighboring structures, the 2-story brick home was not vacant. Through public property records, the Free Press confirmed Higginbotham is the owner of the house. It was empty New Year's Eve, the Post says, because Higginbotham was renovating the home to accommodate his mother. She has Alzheimer's.
"They just let it burn to the ground," Higginbotham told the Post. "All of them need to be fired," he added of the eighteen men in the photo. Higginbotham says his mother doesn't know about the fire yet.
The original picture was shared to the Detroit Fire Incidents Page. It was posted on New Year's Eve and captioned: "Crews take a moment to get a selfie on New Years!"
According to Jones, the photo was taken as a memento for a captain's retirement. "There are a lot of ways to celebrate a retirement. Taking a photo in front of a building fire is not one of them," Jones said in a statement to WXYZ.
It is not yet clear if the 18 firefighters in the photo face any repercussions, the incident is still under investigation Jones told the Post.
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