CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The cleanup at the site of a Clinton Township business that caught fire, caused several explosions and killed a teenager with flying debris, is taking longer than residents had hoped.
The building was illegally storing large quantities of vape supplies when it caught fire on March 4. Thousands of containers of combustible gas that were stored in the building caused continuous explosions.
Read: Debris from Macomb County building explosion includes jagged metal containers, Batarangs
The exploding canisters damaged dozens of homes and businesses -- including American Printing, which had to replace all its windows. Additionally, there were hundreds of holes in its roof.
“We didn’t realize that until it started raining. 87% of this equipment had water damage, some of it couldn’t be replaced,” said owner Bob Hindman.
With all the damage to his equipment, he estimates that the damages total $6 million. But it could have been worse. The business has more than 100 gallons of isopropyl alcohol on site that is inspected annually by fire crews. If one of the canisters had hit it, the business would have been completely gone.
Cleanup started in August. A fence surrounds the area and people are required to wear special protective gear to enter. The cleanup will cost $2.7 million.
It’s expected to be completed sometime in December as dangerous materials remain at the site.
Aside from the equipment and protective gear, it’s hard to miss the piles of canisters being collected. The EPA has picked up 6,500 steel compressed gas cylinders and 7,800 aluminum containers. Additionally, they’ve also collected 14,000 lithium-ion battery devices and 1,200 loose lithium-ion batteries.
Some of the debris was found two miles away from the shop.
Turner Saler, a 19-year-old from Clinton Township, was nearly a quarter of a mile away from the building when he was killed by a falling canister. Because of that, Noor Kestou, the owner of the business, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Much of what authorities have found wasn’t allowed to be there.
Kestou was arrested at JFK International Airport with a one-way ticket to China. His court dates keep getting pushed back until the cleanup is completed so authorities can know exactly what was stored in the business.
---> In Your Neighborhood: Exploring the charms of Clinton Township
