Faulty air compressor causes explosion
No injuries as family fled burning home
Jennifer Aviolo was relaxing her husband in the back yard of their Macomb Township home Sunday afternoon when they heard a “boom” sound, followed by a two more loud noises.
“It sounded like a gunshot,” said Aviolo, with her husband, Chris. “Then we heard a couple more loud sounds. Something didn’t sound right.”
A house across the street from the couple on the 55500 block of Frost Drive, in the Fallbrooke Farms subdivision in the area of 25 Mile Road and Boughton, had exploded and caught fire about 4 p.m.
Fire officials said no injuries were reported as the family fled the burning structure. Macomb Township firefighters were able to prevent flames from penetrating the house, but the explosion caused an estimated $100,000 in damage to the garage along with destroying a vehicle that was housed inside.
Investigators said the explosion was caused by a faulty air compressor, but they were still looking into what caused it to blow up.
“That’s our next focus, why the air compressor blew up,” said Fire Chief Robert Phillips. “We have ruled out foul play.”
Fire crews were met by heavy flames as they arrived, according to the fire chief. They were able to get the vehicle out of the garage and contained the fire to that area.
Phillips said the family was inside the house when they heard a noise coming from the garage. He said a family member opened the door from the kitchen to the adjoining garage and saw fire. They grabbed a fire extinguisher and went back to the garage, where they were met with stronger flames.
That’s when the family grabbed their two pet dogs, evacuated the house and waited outside for the fire department. Although firefighters were able to prevent flames from entering the house, the home interior had smoke damage, fire officials said.
“They did everything right and what we try to get people to do in the event of a fire,” Phillips said. “They closed the door immediately to stop the fire from getting in the home and exited the structure.”
The family declined to comment.
The home had working some detectors, which continued to sound after the fire had been extinguished.
Township assessing records show the 2,070-square-foot home was assessed at $168,300.
Ray Township firefighters manned the Macomb Township stations while the work was going on.