One woman suffered burns while another man leaped from his second-floor window to escape harm as firefighters in Ypsilanti Township battled two separate blazes Saturday evening. Both fires were sparked after the inhabitants fell asleep.
The first, a small kitchen fire, broke out around 9:15 p.m. in a three-story apartment building at 150 Stevens Drive. Ypsilanti Township Fire Capt. Larry James said the male resident was cooking in his kitchen, went into his bedroom to read and fell asleep.
The man told investigators he woke up when his nose started tingling. When he opened his bedroom door, smoke flooded his bedroom, and the man jumped from his window to safety and was uninjured, James said.
The fire, which was contained to the man's unit, caused an estimated $20,000 in damage.
Firefighters were dispatched to the second blaze at 10:55 p.m. at 714 Forest Court at the site of a ranch-style apartment building.
There, a woman who was on medical oxygen fell asleep while smoking, James said. Her burning cigarette started a flame, which reacted violently with the oxygen generator, he said.
Firefighters reported that the woman suffered burns to 5 percent of her body.
The blaze caused heavy damage to two units, a storage unit and a roof. Four units were ordered unlivable, with an estimated $100,000 worth of damage.
Ypsilanti Township crews were aided by firefighters from Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Superior Township and Pittsfield Township.