DETROIT (WXYZ) — Thirteen people were hospitalized, including six kids, after an explosion at an apartment building on Detroit's west side early Monday morning.
Related: Officials: Emergency alert for Detroit apartment explosion sent accidentally to multiple communities
The incident happened around 4 a.m. on Littlefield Street near Schoolcraft Road.
Three of the 13 people injured in the blast were hospitalized in critical condition. Most have been treated and released.
Watch the latest update from fire officials in the video below
Officials provided some details about the people hospitalized:
- A 30-year-old man with severe burns to 90% of his body
- A 27-year-old woman with severe burns
- A 3-year-old girl with burns to 15% of her body
Those three people were all in the same unit, officials say.
A pregnant woman living at the 12-unit apartment building was taken to a nearby hospital’s labor and delivery unit where doctors are monitoring her and her unborn child.
A couple with a young baby is counting their blessings after the explosion.
“We had to climb out the window. I hopped out the window first, I had the baby and then I hopped out and then I caught her,” Jesus Anaya said while referencing his girlfriend Ashley Ridner.
With a large gash on Anaya’ arm, both made it out of their apartment with their 5-month-old son Santino. Firefighters and DTE crews salvaged some of their belongings. It’s all they have left.
“At least we got some baby clothes and at least the baby is safe,” Anaya said.
According to fire crews, there was a firewall between the eight-unit side where the explosion happened and the side with four units.
Investigators are working to determine the cause.
"This was like it was their children," Simms. said "The fire department did a great job. Without the crews on the scene, it would have been a lot worse."
Two building residents we spoke with say they are still processing what happened.
“It's just a disbelief right now. It just don't even seem real. Just hours ago, we were sitting there in the living room and all this. So I really don't know what to say right now,” said Deandre McNeal, who was with his son Noah.
Deandre McNeal said they had gone to the laundromat and then he went to the bar before getting a call from his son that the building exploded.
Extended interview: 'Something told me to get out.' Residents talk about Detroit apartment explosion
“I can't even process it yet. I'm just really just praying and thanking God that everybody made it out alive. That's my main thing right now. Everything else, it could be replaced, but that life, you know, priceless. So at this point, I'm just thanking God that we're here to even talk about it at this point and try to get our life back together step-by-step from here,” he said.
Noah McNeal told us he got a feeling that he had to leave before the incident.
“I just wanted to go to the laundry. Something told me to get out the house. Something told me to just follow my gut. Something told me tell my dad that we should go to laundry, and I spent all the time at the house. This happened and I just can't believe it,” Noah McNeal said.
They told 7 News Detroit that their relative was inside the building when it exploded.
“He was actually in here when it blew up. He said he thought it was a terrorist attack. Woke him out of sleep to that boom. He just went and covered his kids, getting a couple of broken ribs and a few lacerations from the explosion,” Deandre McNeal said.
Both Deandre and Noah McNeal said they are thankful that they were out of the building and thankful to be alive.
Another man, who had six family members in the building, also shared his story.
"My son and my two grandkids were on this side right here. They had to get them out through the window. They were stuck in there," Charles Jackson said. "They had to get them out through the window. They live on the top, so they were stuck in there. They couldn't get down, so they had to go and get them through the back way."
Fire crews put up drones with thermal imaging to confirm that no one else was in the building. Cars and nearby homes also sustained damage.
The Detroit Construction and Demolition Department was on scene at the apartment and the demolition of the building was expected to start soon, as the building was not stable.
That demolition will be conducted along with fire investigators so that the investigators can attempt to determine a cause.
“Our biggest concern is making sure the community is safe. This hazard staying open like this, it’s only a matter of minutes really — it’s been windy all day. If the wind picks up, we have the risk of losing an additional wall. For us, it’s making sure the community is always safe,” said LaJuan Counts, director of Detroit’s Construction and Demolition Department.
The city of Detroit’s Housing Revitalization Department along with councilman Fred Durhal and the American Red Cross are working to secure temporary housing for those who need it.
DTE says its equipment at the site was found to be in safe, working condition and no natural gas leak calls were made to the utility company prior to the explosion.
The apartment building was listed for sale in on Zillow for $439,000.
— 7 News Detroit reporter Randy Wimbley contributed to this report.
