GASOLINE VAPORS
DURING CAR MAINTENANCE CAUSE EXPLOSION ON PLEASANT AVENUE IN KALAMAZOO, MI
BADLY DAMAGING GARAGE
January 23, 2015
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Mae Baker was sitting in her home on
South Westnedge Avenue watching a movie while her granddaughter played
quietly on the floor in front of her. It was then, Baker said, her
neighbor's garage exploded.
"I thought somebody had crashed into the side
of my house," Baker, 46, said. "I settled my grand-baby down and went
looking through all the windows."
"Then I heard fire engines; it was like somebody
had kicked at my front door and was trying to break in."
At approximately 7:00 p.m. Friday, the Kalamazoo
Department of Public Safety responded to the 600 block of Pleasant Avenue on
reports of an explosion, according to KDPS Lt. Matthew Huber.
There they found the flaming remnants of a garage.
"Most of the fire was contained to the front of the
garage and garage door," Huber said at the scene. "We put it out
within a couple minutes."
According to Huber, two people were home
during the explosion. A preliminary investigation suggests the explosion
was caused by gasoline vapor.
"The homeowner said he was in the garage working on
his car," Huber said. "He was putting an engine in a Durango when
gasoline vapors filled the garage.
"(The vapors) ignited and exploded,"
Huber added. "The three (garage) walls were completely blown out or
collapsed in and the back door of the residence exploded into the house.
"It was quite the explosion."
Huber said no one was injured, even though the homeowner
was standing at the front of the garage as it exploded.
"He was a little rattled but he's unhurt at
this time," Huber said of the homeowner. "I don't know how."
The explosion is still under investigation,
according to Huber.