“Albeit, it’s not the type of system that everybody thought was in place, there were safety measures there,” he said. He said single station smoke alarms, that were not interconnected, did go off in both buildings during the incident.

Millerov said the complex was built in the 1970s and wasn’t required to have a sprinkler or fire alarm system installed. “Once we figure out the origin, then we go through and find out, 'okay, we know the fire started here, what is here that can explain why this fire started?' And that’s the part that ends up coming up undetermined,” he said. Meridian Township Fire Marshal Tavis Millerov said the department knows the incident started from a couch fire but couldn't identify a 'competent ignition source' to find out why the fire started. The complex’s two structures at 2300 Knob Hill Drive and 2314 Knob Hill have both been deemed a total loss. 21 fire killed one man and displaced dozens of residents.

The cause of the Knob Hill Apartments fire has not been determined.

The Meridian Township Fire Department has completed its investigation into a fire that occurred at an Okemos apartment complex last December. Meridian Township More than 30 units were burned down during the fire at Knob Hill Apartments in Okemos.

Meridian township fire department