Leonard N. Fleming

The Detroit News

Detroit — Authorities are investigating the cause of an overnight explosion of a vacant home on the city’s far west side.

No one was injured in the 6800 block of Evergreen near Warren when around 3 a.m. neighbors heard a loud boom. By daylight, house debris was strewn on the sidewalk and into the yards of two homes — one occupied and another vacant — that were also damaged.

“Yeah, I heard it, about 3 this morning,” said Duane Moore, 53, who lives on the same block. “It was a BOOM, and I was like, what the heck was that?”

Moore said a single mother with three children moved out of the home three weeks ago in a neighborhood that feels the pinch of urban blight, with some visible vacant homes.

Debra Moore, 60, who lives across the street near the corner, didn’t hear the explosion but was startled when she saw a news truck in front of her home.

“I haven’t heard nothing,” she said. “I slept hard. I’m like ‘Oh my God.’ We’ve never had nothing like this on this street, never. Never. I’m so glad nobody got injured.”

The furnace was stolen in the basement of the home at some point when the prior tenant left, fire officials said. That is believed to have led to an open gas line which eventually ignited.

lfleming@detroitnews.com