'It sounded like a bomb': 3 suffer severe burns, 12 rescued after suspected apartment explosion in Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) – Detroit firefighters rescued 12 people from a west side Detroit apartment early Monday after a reported explosion.

According to executive fire commissioner Chuck Simms, six children and six adults were trapped inside the apartment on Littlefield near Schoolcraft and Schaefer.

The backstory:

Simms said crews were called to the two-story building on reports of a fire and explosion around 4 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they saw people jumping out of windows.

“They immediately went into action to rescue 12 individuals,” he said.

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.

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.

“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,” said Steffen Moore, who lives in the apartment. “It sounded like a bomb. Because I didn’t smell any smoke, I don’t see any fire. You don’t smell any chemicals.”

What they’re saying:

Simms praised firefighters for their quick response, saying that they prevented the situation from becoming worse.

“Without their fast response and fast thinking, this could have been a lot worse,” he said.

What’s next:

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: FOX 2 interviewed executive fire commissioner Chuck Simms for this story.