OXFORD VILLAGE – Part of an immigrant’s past was reduced to ashes and a couple of tenants, one of whom is a veteran, lost the roof over their heads because of a devastating fire during the wee hours of June 23.

Fifty years ago, the house at 77 S. Glaspie St. was the physical embodiment of the American dream for owner Irene Fischer and her late husband, John, both of whom came to the United States from what was then Yugoslavia.

Now, all that remains is a burned-out, blackened shell with melted vinyl siding and a huge hole in the roof.

“The house is a total loss,” said Oxford Fire Chief Pete Scholz. “It has been condemned.”

“It’s sad – very sad,” Fischer said.

Firefighters were called to the home at 1:21 a.m. after the upstairs tenant, Daniel G. Smith, discovered the flames.

Smith was in his apartment, watching television, when he smelled something burning. He ran downstairs to find out what was happening in the other apartment. “I banged on the door like crazy, but got no answer,” he said.

Smith, who’s lived there since last October, ran outside and could see the downstairs tenant’s “TV is on, but he’s nowhere around.” He then ran to the back of the house and spotted the fire through the windows.

“You could see the yellow flames dancing inside the kitchen,” he said. “I ran back upstairs, got my phone and called 9-1-1.”

He went back upstairs a second time to gather some personal belongings.

“When I went back to get my backpack, I couldn’t even see up there, the smoke was so thick. It was pretty bad already,” Smith said.

The downstairs tenant, who had been allegedly consuming alcohol earlier that night, according to Smith, eventually exited the house on his own.

Neither Smith nor the other tenant were injured.

Oxford’s fire department was dispatched at 1:24 a.m. When Scholz and the first fire engine arrived on the scene at 1:32 a.m., flames were blowing out of a window in the back corner of the house.

Something cooking on the stove had been left unattended and that’s what caused the fire, according to the chief. Information released by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office stated, “Alcohol consumption appears to be a factor.”

Given it was an older house with balloon-frame construction, the chief said the fire got inside the wall, then went straight to the attic where it spread and burned through the roof.

The fire was declared under control at 3:15 a.m. Firefighters from Orion, Brandon and Metamora townships assisted at the scene, while the Addison Township Fire Department covered Oxford’s medical calls.

Fischer said the whole situation was “like a bad dream.”

Although she hasn’t lived in the house since 1970, she hung on to it all these years because it held great sentimental value for her.

It was the first home she and her husband, who died in 2012, purchased in the U.S. They came from what is now known as Serbia. She’s an ethnic Hungarian, while he was mix of German and Hungarian.

They bought the house in the mid-1960s, but moved a few years later when they needed more room for their growing family, which eventually came to include four kids.

Fischer could never bear to sell it, but now, the fire has forced her to part with this tangible piece of her past.

“It’s just gone,” Fischer said.

As for Smith, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1972-78 (two years active duty and four years reserve), he has a backpack with some things and his bicycle, but that’s about it.

“I lost everything I had,” he said.

Since the fire, he’s been living in a tent in the backyard due to his limited financial means.

Fortunately, Smith has located another place to live locally and is in the process of working out all the details.

“It’s a studio apartment, recently renovated,” he said. “It’s real nice. It’s a big step up.”

Smith is planning to apply for some long-term help with the rent from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

“I need that,” he said. “My (monthly) income’s only $877. And I thought that would be okay, but it is not.”