Deonte Higginbothom On The Detroit Fire Department’s Infamous “Firefighter Selfie”
Deonte Higginbothom discusses the viral Detroit Fire Department "selfie" photo taken in front of his family's burning home on New Year's Eve, and what he wants to happen next.
About This Episode
On New Year’s Eve, 21-year-old Deonte Higginbothom’s home burnt to the ground in a fire that the Detroit Fire Department have yet to identify the cause of. While the house burnt, the 18 members of the Detroit Fire Department who were present controversially took a selfie in front of the home, which was later posted to Facebook, making international headlines.
Hear Deonte give his take on the event, what he would like to see the Detroit Fire Department do to make things right, and how his family plans to recover from this devastating event.
Show Notes
FAQs
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What happened in the Detroit Fire Department "selfie" controversy?
On New Year’s Eve, a fire burned down the Southwest Detroit home Deonte Higginbothom’s family had owned for over 50 years. According to Mike Morse, approximately 19 or 20 members of the Detroit Fire Department took a picture in front of the house while it was on fire, and the picture was seen around the world.
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Was Deonte Higginbothom's burned house vacant?
No one had slept there since about 2018, but co-host Kevin Dietz said it was clearly not what you would call a vacant house. Deonte said the family was about 90% through a roughly $50,000 remodel, with new drywall, new kitchen cabinets and a new fence, and hoped to move in as soon as it was done, in early 2020.
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Did the 911 call say the house was occupied?
As co-host Kevin Dietz described it, the 911 operator asked whether the house was vacant, and the caller said no, they believed it was occupied, so the fire department had information that this was an occupied home. On the show it was said that firefighters should then have gone in intending to do everything they could to put out the fire. Deonte said the call came from the neighbors straight across the street.
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What did Deonte Higginbothom want from the Detroit Fire Department?
Deonte said he had been talking out of anger when he said the firefighters should be fired; maybe discipline would be good, but something needs to happen. Earlier he said he would like an apology, and that as of the interview no one from the city, police or fire department had apologized, though an investigator had called him with questions about the house.
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Did Deonte Higginbothom's family have homeowner's insurance on the house?
No. Deonte said the family had no homeowner’s insurance on the house, which he said was a total loss as of the interview. He said people had wanted to buy it for $100,000, but his dad felt they could get more.
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