The homeowner of a Detroit home that went viral this week because firefighters posed for a picture in front of it while it burned said he is "furious," according to the New York Post.

Deonte Higginbotham, 21, said he was in the process of renovating the two-story brick home on the 600 block of South Green Street on Detroit's west side.

“I’ve lived in it my whole life,” he told The Post.

“They just let it burn to the ground. … Eighteen men and none of them did anything,” Higginbotham said about the firefighters. “All of them need to be fired.”

He couldn't be reached by the Free Press for comment.

Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell said the incident remains under investigation and the department is working to figure out what caused the fire.

Fornell said the picture was small fraction of the time firefighters were working.

The fire made it too dangerous to enter, he said.

No one was living in the house as far as the fire department knew, Fornell said.

"According to our records, we have confirmed there has been no water usage at that address for two years, aside from a one-month anomaly in February 2019," said Tiffany Jones, Public Affairs Director at Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD).

Even though there has been no water running through the house, the owner has a delinquent bill since 2018 because there are service and drainage fees each month, Jones stated.

However, Higginbotham told the Post that he still lived there with his mother Dorothy, 70, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

The only reason they weren't in the home on the day of the fire is that they have been remodeling it to accommodate his mother's illness, Higginbotham told The Post.

According to David Bell, Director of the Building Safety, Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED), there have been no home improvement permits issued for that address.

Higginbotham added that his mother is staying with family and he hasn't told her about the fire.

“I don’t even want to tell her,” he said to The Post.

A Wayne County property record shows Dorothy Higginbotham transferred ownership to Deonte Higginbotham in May.

The viral photo was taken on New Year's Eve and posted on the "Detroit Fire Incidents Page" on Facebook along with the caption "crews take a moment to get a selfie on New Years!"

Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said, “There are a lot of ways to celebrate a retirement. Taking a photo in front of a building fire is not one of them. We will investigate this matter and follow the facts where they lead us. If this photo is verified, discipline will be in order.”

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Contact Bisma Parvez: 313-222-6420 or bparvez@gannett.com Follow her on Twitter @bismapar