Michigan ? Two children and two women were killed early Monday in a fire at an apartment complex in suburban Detroit.

The overnight fire seemed to have started in the kitchen on an electric stove, Southfield Fire Chief Peter Healy said.

There was a smoke detector in the home, but it wasn’t working because there was no battery inside the device, said Southfield Fire Marshal James Dundas. Had it been working, the residents should have had enough time to escape, he said.

“These people didn’t have to die. They apparently woke up to an apartment that was filled with smoke,” Dundas said.