CLINTON TWP. (WWJ) -- An investigation is underway into what caused a series of explosions that sent fireballs and projectiles into the air, killing a young man in Clinton Township Monday night.
The 19-year-old victim about a 1/4 mile away from the scene at Select Distributions LLC, in the area of at 15 Mile Rd. and Groesbeck, when authorities say he was hit in the head by a flying piece of exploding canister.
On Tuesday, officials were warning Macomb County residents — even those miles away from the scene of the massive fire — not to touch any debris that they may come across.
There is particular concern about canisters of what's believed to be butane and nitrous oxide, which may have spread as far as three or four miles away.
"The canisters are a problem for two reasons," Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon said. "One, the ones that have exploded have their jagged edges, so people could get hurt picking those up; they could get cut. And there are some that did not explode."
"So, we have cannisters in the community right now that we're concerned about, and we're asking people to call 9-1-1 and we will come out and get them. We don't want anybody to pick these up," Cannon said.
[Authorities are now asking people who find these items to call the Macomb Co. Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at 586-469-5502]
One firefighter is recovering from an injury they suffered while fighting the fire, which Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said was "by far the biggest" fire he's ever seen.
Several fire trucks and police cars were damaged by flying debris from the explosions, which began a little after 9 p.m. and continued for as long as 45 minutes.
WWJ's Jon Hewett reports the investigation is just beginning into precisely what the operators of Select Distributors were housing on their site — along 15 Mile between Kelly and Groesbeck — which is now closed.
Cannon said he does not believe the business should have been storing whatever was at the facility, which was licensed only as a commercial business selling various items including vape pens and knives. He believes the company could potentially face charges.
"We did not know of any of these chemicals," Cannon said. "We inspected about a year ago — there were our building department and fire department — and none of these (chemicals) were there."
"So, all of this came in under cover of darkness if you will that we had no knowledge of. We would never have a lot of that in our community," he said.
Updating the situation at a Tuesday afternoon news conference, officials said crews were out cleaning up debris from sidewalks and near homes within a two-mile radius.
"There is much more than we anticipated," Cannon said, stressing again: " encourage again, people not to go out looking for these for souvenirs. This is not a game and these things are dangerous."
Township officials are working with the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad, Cannon said, to make sure the cannisters are safely picked up and secured, in the interest of public safety. "We have collected 15 yards of debris as far out as two miles. So this explosion sent a lot of debris out into the community," Cannon said.
Clinton Township Police Chief Dina Caringi said her department is working together with the Fire Marshal and ATF on the ongoing investigation.
The owners, the employees that were on scene have all been very cooperative throughout this investigation," she said. "They were there throughout the night again, providing any information they can into this incident. So, we will conduct our investigation and proceed as accordingly."
A perimeter fence is being erected around the property, and the public continues to be instructed to stay away. Cannon said police are monitoring the area, and there will be repercussions for anyone caught trespassing.
This is a developing story. Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest information.