Fires continue to flare up at Clinton Township explosion site

Debris found 2 miles away from Clinton Township explosion

A building that exploded multiple times in Clinton Township on Monday night sent debris flying as far as 2 miles away. That building was full of butane and nitrous oxide tanks that were ignited by a fire.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - Hot spots continue to flare up Wednesday morning after explosions leveled a building Monday night in Clinton Township.

A fire at the building that houses Goo and Select Distributors at 15 Mile and Groesbeck caught fire, leading to multiple explosions that sent debris flying as far as two miles away. A 19-year-old man who was about ¼ mile away from the building was killed when he was hit by a canister.

Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said nitrous tanks, butane, lighter fluid, and more than 100,000 vape pens with lithium batteries that were inside the building exploded. The gas canisters were illegally stored.

"There's a lot of aspects that go into these – the storage, what they are allowed to do, certain amounts they're allowed to have," Duncan said.

When firefighters got to the scene Monday night, they couldn't immediately fight the flames because of the explosions. Once the explosions ceased late Monday, they were able to begin putting out the flames that kept flaring into Tuesday.

Investigators are not able to access the blast site until it is cleared by firefighters and is no longer igniting.

Aside from flames re-igniting in the rubble, there are concerns that canisters that were sent flying could still be active. If you find a canister, do not touch it. Call 586-469-5502 to report it.