Flint City Council pushes back discussion about fire investigation

FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) – The Flint City Council has postponed a discussion about an investigation involving the death of two young brothers in a house fire.

Lamar and Zyaire Mitchell died in a house fire on Pulaski Street in Flint on May 28, 2022, and on Wednesday, May 3, Councilwomen Tonya Burns and Jerri Winfrey-Carter wanted the Flint City Council to have a follow-up discussion on its vote to hire an independent firm to investigate the tragedy.

It’s almost a year later, and no firm has been hired for the job.

On May 28 of last year, a fire broke out at the home on Pulaski Street. When firefighters arrived on the scene, two entered the home and announced it was clear, but several minutes later, when a second set of firefighters entered, they found the two boys in a room on the second floor.

Days later, both boys died of smoke inhalation.

“We need to know what happened because at the bare essence of it, two little boys lost their lives. We need to find out do we need to change our policy our procedure? We need to know what’s going on and so that’s why we want to have an independent investigation so that it’s fair, it’s clear and it is transparent for the public and for the parents,” Burns said.

Once again, the discussion about the fire has been pushed back.

The council had three committee agendas to go through before discussing the fire, but after more than three hours, members couldn’t even get past the first agenda.

Within 45 minutes of the start of the meeting, Councilman Eric Mays was removed, and three hours later, the meeting erupted into a shouting match between Councilwomen Burns and Eva Worthing.

There is no indication as to when or if the council will discuss the fire investigation.

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