By Kate Linderman
The Charlotte Observer
DETROIT — Twelve people, including six children, were pulled from an apartment building after an early morning explosion, Michigan fire officials said.
People were attempting to jump from the windows of the two-story building in Detroit when firefighters arrived around 4 a.m. on March 31, according to WDIV.
Three people, who were all in the same apartment, suffered severe burns and were in critical condition, Detroit Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms said in a news conference posted by WXYZ.
A 30-year-old man had severe burns on 90% of his body, a 27-year-old woman was in critical condition with severe burns, and a 3-year-old girl suffered severe burns to 15% of her body, fire officials told WXYZ.
Simms said the cause of the explosion is unknown, but officials will focus their investigation into the unit where the three suffered severe burns.
“I thought it was just somebody had crashed into the building literally, but then you look at it and there’s no fire, there’s none of that,” Steffen Moore, a resident of the building, told WJBK. “It sounded like a bomb.”
Many residents across the Detroit area woke up to an emergency alert regarding the explosion, which happened on the west side of the city, WJBK reported.
Fire officials told the outlet the alert was accidentally sent across the city but was only meant to go to those in the zip code where the explosion occurred.
Demolition of the building is set to begin, Simms said during the news conference. Four residents were escorted into the building to obtain their personal belongings, he added.
Simms confirmed that there are no more occupants in the building.
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