Massive Fire Breaks Out at Michigan Warehouse

(RepublicanView.org) – A 19-year-old died during several explosions at a vape distribution factory in Michigan. A huge fire engulfed the facility in the Clinton Township, causing nearby homes to shake and spreading projectiles as far as a mile away. The dead man was reportedly standing at a gas station nearby when a flying object struck him in the head. He has not been identified.

At a subsequent press conference, authorities said they believed butane and nitrous oxide canisters were illegally stored at the site, which housed vape pens and dollar store products. Paul S. Brouwer, the township’s emergency management coordinator, said at a press conference, “We know they were not allowed to have these canisters.”

Residents of towns up to ten miles away reported hearing the explosions that continued for more than an hour, and Clinton Township police said they evacuated the immediate area.

Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan described heat and explosions so intense that his officers could not approach the site. He added that it was one of the biggest fires he had seen in his 25-year career. Some of his officers were also struck by projectiles as they approached, with one injured when a canister broke his car window and hit him in the face.

Mr. Duncan said investigations are ongoing as it is not yet understood exactly what was stored there or why the fire started.

Records show that the facility, identified as a retail and storage business called Goo LLC, stored around 100,000 vape pens on site. Mr. Brouwer told reporters that the firm’s owners were cooperative, and that the site had last been inspected in September 2022 when vape pens were noted, but no canisters.

Among the projectiles hurled into the air during the explosions were knives, switchblades, and butane and lithium batteries. Police and Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agents interview the facility’s owners the day after the fires broke out, authorities said.

Mr. Duncan assured residents that water and air quality were not negatively impacted.