Clinton Township explosion site still too hot to start investigation, officials say
The site of the Monday night Clinton Township fire and explosions is still too warm to start investigating the area because of the risk of another explosion, officials said Friday.
"We can't even get near it," Township Supervisor Bob Cannon told The Detroit News.
Cannon said the township officials' biggest fear is that one of the containers on site will explode and hurt someone. He said the township will hire someone who can use heavy equipment to carefully move the building's metal structure around. Canisters and other debris are underneath the metal.
The township is hoping that investigators will be able to start digging through the debris about mid to late next week, Cannon said.
A fire and series of thunderous explosions at a Clinton Township vape supply facility shot debris in the air as far as two miles away from the facility on 15 Mile on Monday night, according to township officials. Turner Lee Salter, 19, was killed by the blast and firefighter Matt Myers was injured.
The debris included canisters weighing 10 to 15 pounds, which careened from the blast site with such force that they embedded into buildings and cars.
Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said Friday it's going to be some time before officials can investigate the cause of the fire and explosions.
“Once we get on site, we’re going to have start pulling the heavy metal and debris off of the site,” Duncan said. “Then it will be intermittent, where you pull that off and investigate. We’ll have a fire engine there for fire suppression and to cool the thing down. Then we’ll have to wait a little bit before reentering the scene. It’s going to be ... quite the undertaking.”
Investigators will likely focus on an area of the fire site and then expand from there, he said.
Clinton Township Fire Marshal Chuck Champagne told reporters that a team of experienced fire investigators is being assembled. It will include members of the Clinton Township fire and police departments, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Michigan State Police, as well as private investigators. He said the team is currently in the "information gathering phase."
Cannon said 20 personnel with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are now helping with the cleanup of debris outside of the fire location. They're starting to pick up debris on the ground, and they know how to dispose of it properly, he said. The township is "very grateful" for the help, Cannon said.
Duncan on Friday confirmed his department has poured an estimated two million gallons of water on the site this week.
“We got a quick estimate from our Department of Public Works on our use in the area of 15 Mile and Groesbeck,” Duncan told The News. “The night of the explosion alone we used about 1.3 million gallons.”
He explained the typical fire engine can distribute about 1,000 gallons of water per minute.
“You figure you have three or four ladder trucks operating, you’re looking at 3,000 to 4,000 gallons per minute going out on that fire," Duncan said.
Clinton Township Emergency Management Coordinator Paul Brouwer said at the press conference that “we all want the truth."
“Nobody’s trying to hide anything," he said. "We want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible as well as looking at what the cause or the origin of this fire was.”
Brouwer told members of the public to not "go out looking for those canisters."
"Nothing good can come from it. They're not worth anything, and they're harmful if they happen to be compromised by the heat," he said, adding that a canister stored in a garage could explode on a hot summer day.
Clinton Township said in a press release that the area surrounding the ruins on the 15 Mile Road site isn't safe, and the police and fire departments are asking members of the public to stay away from the area.
Residents who find debris from the blast on their property, including metal canisters and other projectiles, should call the Macomb County Communications & Technology Center at 586-469-5502, the township said.
"Under no circumstances should canisters be handled or moved, as they may be dangerous with sharp edges," the township stated.
Residents and business owners can document any damage to their property from the debris by using the self-reporting survey at https://arcg.is/10ab1j or by calling 586-469-5502.
asnabes@detroitnews.com