BLAST SITE STILL TOO DANGEROUS FOR INVESTIGATORS TO ACCESS
Business owners have been questioned by ATF personnel
Clinton Township fire officials said Friday that the site of the March 4 explosion and fire near Groesbeck Highway and 15 Mile Road remains too dangerous for fire investigators to access directly.
Clinton Township Fire Marshal Chuck Champagne said he expects his department to begin its on-site investigation sometime next week. The investigative team includes members of Clinton Township police and fire departments; the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Michigan State Police; and private investigators.
“Rest assured, even though the on-scene investigation has not happened, there are pieces moving in every direction, every hour of the day to uncover the other parts of it,” said Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan. “There is video being obtained by the police department, interviews going on, and all that video paints a picture for them.
“We have a pretty good idea about where the focus is going to be based on what we’ve seen.”
The fire department has been using drone technology to monitor
the scene.
“We had numerous drones up the night of the fire and some of that footage will be used as part of the investigation, and the past couple of days, the police department has had their drones up,” said Duncan. “The footage from the drones is also being used to map the surrounding area for where some of the materials and debris went.”
The former Save-A-Lot grocery building at 19100 15 Mile Road that housed Goo vape and
smoke shop and Select Distributors Wholesale exploded at approximately 8:50 p.m. Monday, sending debris as far as two miles from the blast location.
The township has declared a local state of emergency.
Fire investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire that led to the explosion of nitrous oxide and butane tanks that were stored at the facility because of the site being unsafe and unstable for fire personnel.
Clinton Township Supervisor Robert Cannon said city and public safety officials are committed to determining the cause of the explosion.
“We will find out through our investigation what happened, who did it, who is responsible, and somebody will be held accountable,” said Cannon. “We don’t know exactly what happened, but we will.”
Duncan said the site is still smoldering and that small fires have reignited in two areas on the west end of the property despite his department dousing the site with more than two million gallons of water. Structural steel from the collapsed building must be removed in order for investigators to gather information, which Duncan said can be a very delicate process.
Although there have been no explosions the past three days, ATF personnel have told Duncan there is potential for more explosions once the heavy steel building pieces are moved.
“That is one of the things causing a little bit of a delay, because we want to make sure we are bringing in the right equipment to handle the job,” said Duncan. “Obviously you need someone driving it who has experience with these kinds of conditions.
“You just don’t go to your lo