PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Pittsfield Township firefighters said they evacuated an area around Ann Arbor Welding when a 2,000-gallon propane tank caught fire and smaller exploding tanks become projectiles near a 30,000-gallon butane tank.
Firefighters were called Thursday afternoon to the building in the 4000 block of Carpenter Road.
Company officials said the fire started when an employee looked away while filling a propane tank. When the employee looked back, there was a fire, officials said.
Crews said there was a heavy fire and thick smoke when they arrived, along with multiple explosions coming from the back of the building.
Officials said they found a 2,000-gallon propane tank and several smaller propane, butane and acetylene tanks on fire.
After confirming that everyone was out of the building, firefighters heard several smaller tanks begin to explode, becoming projectiles and endangering anyone in the area.
Another large propane tank and a 30,000-gallon butane tank were exposed to the fire, so authorities evacuated a 1-mile radius around the building. Officials said there was a risk of a major explosion that would have affected a wide area.
Firefighters from Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor Township and Ypsilanti Township, and officials from Huron Valley and Washtenaw County were called to help at the scene, officials said.
Once the area was deemed safe enough to fight the fire, officials worked on the areas where liquids were still burning, police said. A large propane tank venting product was allowed to burn off while crews monitored the situation, officials said.
When the fire was extinguished, there was severe damage to the tanks and outside equipment, but only minor damage to the building, according to firefighters.
No employees or firefighters were injured during the fire.
Pittsfield Township police and Washtenaw County deputies helped firefighters with the evacuations and road closures.
Officials allowed residents to return to their homes around 6 p.m. Thursday and shelter in place.
