It was a normal Monday night in Clinton Township, when all of the sudden the ground began to shake unexpectedly. As community members felt the ground trembling, those in the area, like sophomore Jaiden Mays, knew something was wrong. While she was sitting in her dad’s apartment located in Clinton Township, she came to the realization that the shake was more than just a mere storm.
On March 4, the business, Select Distributors, located on 15 Mile Road in Clinton Township, combusted into flames, sending debris catapulting into the air. Mays was in her dad’s apartment complex, like any other Monday, watching her little sister while her dad was at work when she began to hear noise from the explosion.
“It sounded like something was falling from the sky and dropping onto the Earth,” Mays said.
Mays was home alone with her sister at the time of the explosion. While she first thought that this was just a routine storm, the shaking of the ground and sirens alerted her that something was wrong.
“I thought it was just thundering and as soon as everything started shaking I was like hold up this isn’t just a storm,” Mays said. “A storm does not just shake the ground.”
The unexpected tragedy leaves many to ponder what types of substances were released into the atmosphere. Grosse Pointe North science teacher Andrew Pola believes that the emissions from the explosion are similar to automobiles.
“From my understanding there were a variety of fuels at the site such as butane,” Pola said. “The combustion of most fuels releases volatile organic compounds, particulate matter and nitrous oxide compounds. Some of these compounds are respiratory irritants and others are carcinogens.”
According to Pola, the explosion did not have wide enough of a radius to impact the Grosse Pointe area or leave any lasting effects on the air quality of the surrounding areas.
“Someone who received an acute dose because they were close to the fire could have difficulties breathing or irritation to the eyes and nose,” Pola said. “But the scale of the fire is relatively small in comparison to the emissions released in an urban area such as Detroit.”
Although May’s dad’s apartment building was not damaged, and her family was safe, the explosion still managed to impact the family’s daily routine.
“We’re avoiding the area altogether. We need to take a different route whenever we try to come into the apartment.”
