STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – The surveillance video shows a fire exploding in the back storage room of the Marathon gas station at 14 Mile and Van Dyke roads in Sterling Heights.
The video captures the impact of the explosion. Two bewildered customers walked out as they were trying to figure out what happened.
Police say about 2:15 a.m. Sunday a man broke into the back storage room and used an accelerant to start the fire.
"The clerk heard a loud boom. She checked the rear storage area and found that it was set afire," said Lt. David Smith. "It definitely rocked the building. It blew some of the front doors open, away from where the storage area was. So there was a pretty good explosion when he set this fire."
No one was injured. Sterling Heights firefighters were able to put out the flames before the fire spread to the rest of the gas station.
On Monday, debris damaged by smoke and water littered the back area. Fire-retardant foam surrounded the gas pumps.
This was not the first time. Just six days earlier someone broke into the storage room, started a fire and drove away. The same thing happened Sunday, but the fire was much more intense than the first one.
Police were searching hospitals for anyone with suspicious injuries.
"We found someone with some severe burn wounds just recently. We believe that this person was involved in the arsons," said Smith.
The man is still too injured to leave the hospital. Police are standing by to take him into custody. He is in his mid-30s and a Detroit resident. Police believe he set both fires and are investigating whether he knows someone at the gas station.
He could face arson and attempted murder charges.