DETROIT (FOX 2) – The Detroit Fire Department said an alert sent to phones about an explosion Monday morning was a mistake.
People in areas around Metro Detroit were awoken early Monday to an alert about a possible explosion.
The backstory:
“Possible explosion at 13910 Littlefield/unconfirmed at this time. Unknown cause,” the emergency alert said.
People miles away from that address received that alert, with residents of Madison Heights, Dearborn, Brownstown, and other communities outside of Detroit reporting that their phones got it.
There was a reported explosion, but it was contained to an apartment near Schoolcraft and Schaefer on Detroit’s west side. The fire department said the alert was only intended for people in the zip code surrounding the apartment, but was sent to others in error.
“DFD apologizes for any inconvenience this caused the community,” a representative for the department said.
Dig deeper:
Fire crews are investigating the possible explosion at an apartment on Littlefield.
According to executive fire commissioner Chuck Simms, firefighters were called to the building around 4 a.m. on reports of an explosion. When they arrived, six children and six adults were trapped inside the apartment, and people were attempting to jump from the building.
Twelve people were rescued. All victims were taken to local hospitals in varying conditions. Some of those victims suffered severe burns to large parts of their bodies, including a 30-year-old man with burns on 90% of his building, a 27-year-old woman with burns to 20-40% of her body, and a 3-year-old girl with burns to 15% of her body.
Related
Detroit firefighters rescued 12 people from a west side Detroit apartment early Monday after a reported explosion.
The victims who were burned were all in the same unit, Simms said. The other victims are listed as stable after suffering other injuries, such as scrapes and bruises, he added.
Though an explosion was reported, Simms said that cannot be confirmed until an investigation is conducted.
Simms said he believes all of the people who were inside have made it out. Once the building is stabilized, crews will make their way inside to confirm that no one else is inside.
Afterwards, investigators will begin working to pinpoint a cause.
The Source: Information from the Detroit Fire Department was used to report this story.
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