A massive explosion believed to be caused by a natural gas leak leveled two apartments and severely damaged more than a dozen others in Orion Township Tuesday evening. Two people were sent to the hospital with serious injuries, authorities said.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the two seriously injured people were a 72-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman. Their condition was still unknown on Tuesday evening.
According to Orion Township officials, the explosion occurred around 6:20 p.m. and brought firefighters from nine surrounding departments to a scene of destruction on Waldon Road between Baldwin and Joslyn Road.
Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett surveyed the widespread damage Tuesday night and said, “It’s insane.”
As of 9 p.m., first responders were still checking to see if any more victims were trapped in the rubble, Barnett said. A fire continued to burn under the rubble of the apartment where the explosion occurred, “because they couldn’t turn off the gas.”
A few other people had minor injuries, Barnett said, adding, “We are grateful that more people were not seriously injured.”
The site of the fire was Keatington New Town, a complex of apartments built between 1975 and 1990, Orion Township building officials told Barnett as the supervisor spoke to the Free Press.
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A suspected gas explosion occurred in an apartment on the right at 6:20 PM on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 in Orion Township. Two people have been hospitalized in serious condition. On the left is a badly damaged second apartment. Authorities evacuated 15 apartments, all heavily damaged by the “massive explosion,” Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said.
Officials have evacuated at least 15 apartments, Barnett said. Windows were blown out, one apartment was pushed off its foundation, and the apartment closest to the apparent source of the explosion was partially still standing.
“It looks like something out of a movie,” he said. “There are a lot of people who are homeless. We send a lot of these people to Woodside Church.”
This scene of destruction greeted personnel from nine fire departments who responded to Tuesday night’s suspected gas explosion at apartments on Waldon Road between Baldwin and Joslyn Road in Orion Township.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the explosion.
“Preliminary indications are that it was a gas explosion, but the exact cause has not yet been determined,” the sheriff’s office said.
The public is urged to stay away from the area while police investigate and work with the Orion Township Fire Department.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, Tracy Wimmer, a spokesperson for Consumers Energy, said they sent crews to the scene immediately after being notified of the explosion: “As first responders are still actively battling the fire, we have no additional information about the cause of the explosion or the status of anyone in the building. Our crews are on scene and will continue their work as soon as first responders deem it safe to do so.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2 seriously injured and many left homeless after Orion Township condo explosion
