House explodes on Detroit's west side, no injuries reported

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit Firefighters are investigating a house explosion on Detroit's west side Monday afternoon.

Just after 4 p.m., the house explosion reports came in to dispatch as the caller reported debris across the street.

The home, on the corner of Sussex and Florence Street, just east of Greenfield and south of Outer Drive West, was leveled in the explosion. The view from SkyFOX showed a hole in the building next door nothing left standing.

Around 4:45 p.m., firefighters were spotted walking into the debris pile where the home once stood. Workers could also be seen at homes nearby, pulling debris off of their roofs. 

Despite the amount of damage caused, FOX 2 has learned only one person had a minor injury and refused to be hospitalized.

"I thought a car hit the house, everybody on our block was literally outside and then we noticed this was going on," said one woman who lives nearby. "It's just been crazy. This whole house is dismantled and then like I said, even the house next door, you can tell that somebody lives there because the TVs are still mounted to the wall. And the whole side of their house is gone."
 

As FOX 2 was on the scene, a woman who claimed to be the homeowner arrived and told firefighters she had left 45 minutes before the explosion. She said she believed she had smelled gas earlier in the day and firefighters said they believe the explosion was caused by a gas leak. A contractor also arrived and said they were supposed to have been at the home at the time that it exploded.

The explosion was so loud that 911 calls came in from as far as six blocks away, authorities said. At least four homes nearby had their windows blown out in the explosion.

Firefighters and DTE are all on scene and investigating the explosion.