ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Propane tanks were thought to be the cause of an explosion that destroyed a house in an Ann Arbor neighborhood on Monday.
Photos: House explodes in Ann Arbor neighborhood
The blast occurred around 6 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 19 on South 7th Street near Princeton Avenue, along the border of Ann Arbor’s Eberwhite and Old West Side neighborhoods. The explosion triggered a massive fire and spread debris across the area. No serious injuries were reported.
Neighbors said a man in his 70s, who lived at the house, managed to get outside and collapse. He was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.
“The wall of his house closest to us had blown open and saw flames starting to come out. I quickly called 911 and got our housemates out, our shoes on and coats on and outside as soon as we could,” said Dane Page, who lives nearby. “By then he was out and calling for help, calling for us to call 911 and pretty soon fire was on the scene, by then the house was pretty engulfed.”
Authorities said gas and water had been cut off to the home for quite some time and the man had been using propane tanks to heat the house. The city traced the cause of the explosion to two 20-pound propane tanks inside.
The explosion also caused damage to nearby homes and firefighters were able to prevent the house closest to the explosion from catching fire. Ann Arbor dispatched a street sweeper to clear glass debris from the streets.
Fred Hutchinson, who lives across the street, said there were multiple explosions and that everything happened very quickly, with the house engulfed in flames seconds after the first blast.
“At 6 O’clock, the whole house rattled,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve had fireworks go off in the neighborhood and stuff. This was 10 times louder than any firework I’ve ever heard.”
“DTE provides gas service for the area, and we have confirmed with DTE that the meter had been shut off for an undetermined amount of time. Neighbors informed us that the occupant was using propane to heat the house. We also determined that the water service had been shut off,” said Ann Arbor fire Chief Mike Kennedy. “There was electrical going there, but gas and water had been shut off.”
Kennedy said it was a miracle that no one was hurt.
The area was blocked off for several hours while crews worked to extinguish the blaze and clean up debris.