*** To help Turning Point Shelter recover quickly from this fire, please consider donating at http://www.gofundme.com/y49hv48 ***
An accidental fire at the new Turning Point shelter in Mount Clemens on Sunday afternoon sent about 40 resident women and children scurrying outside for safety.  Nobody was hurt, as fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the blaze as the sprinkler system had activated.  

Residents will not be allowed back into the 52-bed facility for a couple of days, according to fire officials. “My main concern right now is getting these women and kids out of the heat and finding them some water so they don’t become dehydrated,” said Debbie McPeek, chief programming officer for the shelter. 

Fire crews were called to the three-story, 12,000-square-foot building about 2:30 p.m. after passers-by saw smoke coming from the roof.  Mount Clemens fire Capt. Joseph Stark said responding firefighters tracked the source of the smoke to a dryer fire in the laundry room. 

The interior had “minimal” water and smoke damage, which will take a few days to clean up before residents are allowed back in.  “We’ve notified the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross to try to find these people some temporary housing before they can get back in,” Stark said. 

Mount Clemens firefighters were assisted by crews from Clinton Township, Harrison Township and Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The $3 million shelter opened in 2013 for Turning Point, a Macomb County domestic violence and sexual assault shelter and protective housing facility. The facility typically aids hundreds of local women and children every year.

 McPeek and other shelter workers were busy identifying all of the residents as they sat in a rear parking lot until housing could be found for them. She hoped the damage would be cleaned up in a timely manner.  “It’s a relatively brand new building – go figure,” she said. “We want to get in there and see what happened and how we’re going to address it.”

Turning Point officials said anyone wanting to donate toiletries or other items to assist the women in their short-term stay out of the shelter could call 586-463-4430 or visit turningpointmacomb.org.