Katrease Stafford

Detroit Free Press

At least five homes were destroyed and seven more damaged after a gas explosion rocked a neighborhood on Detroit's southwest side Friday evening, fire officials said.

Chief of Fire Operations John King said he wasn't immediately sure whether any civilians were injured, and he said it's too early to say whether the explosion was caused by an illegal hookup or arson.

But investigators are looking for a man who witnesses said ran from the house prior to the explosion, according to John Roach, Mayor Mike Duggan's spokesman.

Witnesses told the fire department that an individual ran out of the house just before it exploded "and his clothes were on fire at the time," Roach said. "They (investigators) have a lead on who that person might be so we're going to try and find that person and determine if they were at the house and what the cause may be."

All of the residents of the houses that were burned down have been accounted for, Roach said.

Only rubble, bricks and glass remained where the five homes once stood. Fire officials roped off a perimeter as dozens of neighbors watched them battle the blaze. One homeowner whose house was destroyed by the explosion declined to comment, but said his family "lost everything," as he wept on a sidewalk across from the fire.

About 35 firefighters responded around 4:20 p.m. on the 2300 block of Oakdale near Vernor Highway. Fire crews were still on the scene at 7:30 p.m. working to put the fire out. DTE Energy crews were called in to shut the gas lines off in the homes close to the fire. The crews were drilling into the ground in front of several houses to access gas lines.

"Once they shut off the gas, we'll be able to put it out," King said.

A house about six doors down from the explosion is near collapse, King said. The home is uninhabitable after the entire second floor was consumed by fire.

Harold Long, 48, lives about seven houses from the explosion. He said it shattered his windows and shook the house.

"I was in my kitchen when I heard this big boom and it blew my windows out," Long said. "I came outside and went door to door to make sure everyone was safe."

Long said the home where the explosion occurred was vacant, but renovations were being done to it. He said two of the other homes were vacant and the rest were occupied. Long said his neighborhood has had several arson fires within the past few years.

John Woosck, 41, said the neighborhood needs to be cleaned up. Woosck said he also heard a boom and ran over with his son to see what caused the blast.

"This ain't nothing new," Woosck said. "It's just a shame knowing that all these families lost everything. They need to tear all of these houses down. We have such a big problem with scrapping. In the daytime it's alright, but during the night, it's a completely different place. It's bad for kids over here."

Ernie Hudgins, who lives in a nearby apartment building, said he felt helpless as he watched the fire slowly spread from the first house to the rest.

"It's just sad," he said. "It just kills me with it being so close to the holidays. This is when families are supposed to be getting ready for the kids, not rebuilding everything."

Contact Katrease Stafford: kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759. Follow her on Twitter @KatreaseS_Freep.