Early Monday, March 31, a possible explosion at an apartment building in Detroit caused it to be engulfed in flames. As a result of the incident, 12 people were evacuated. All were rushed to local hospitals, with three of them having suffered severe burns to a significant portion of their bodies.
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According to CBS News, reports of the fire and possible explosion arrived at around 4 a.m. on March 31. The incident took place near the intersection of Littlefield Street and Schoolcraft Road. Approximately 60 first responders arrived at the apartment building per the outlet. Among them were Detroit Police officers as well as Detroit firefighters.
Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Sims talked with media outlets, including CBS News and Fox 2, and revealed how the situation looked upon arriving at the scene.
"They had people at the windows ... kind of hanging off, ready to jump," Sims said. "They immediately went into action to rescue 12 individuals."
And that is precisely what the first responders did. All 12 people at the apartment building were saved and were transported to local hospitals. Reportedly, these included six children and six adults.
Severe Burns
Out of those 12, three suffered severe burns that covered a significant percentage of their bodies. Specifically, as per Fox 2, a 30-year-old man suffered burns on 90% of his body, and a 27-year-old woman suffered 20-40% burns of her body. Sadly, the third burned victim was a three-year-old girl who suffered burns to 15% of her body. These three individuals lived in the same apartment.
CBS News reported that firefighters used ladders to rescue people on the apartment building's upper floor. Additionally, firefighters also had to rescue people who were trapped in the building's basement. Sims praised the firefighter's response, who managed to put out the fire quickly and rescue the residents.
"They did an amazing job," Sims said about his firefighters. "Without their fast response and fast reaction, this could have been a lot worse."
The scene is currently being investigated. Reportedly, an explosion alert was mistakenly issued across Metro Detroit. It was only meant to be sent to residents living near the apartment building. The Detroit Fire Department apologized shortly after.
One of the apartment residents, Steffen Moore, talked with Fox 2 and mentioned how a loud boom was heard early on Monday.
"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," Moore said. "It sounded like a bomb. Because I didn't smell any smoke, I don't see any fire. You don't smell any chemicals."
