The owner of a Clinton Township business that caught fire and saw several explosions, killing a teenager with flying debris, appeared in court on Friday.
The fiery explosion happened on March 4, 2024, in the area of 15 Mile Road and Groesbeck Highway. Thousands of containers of combustible gas that were stored in the building caused continuous explosions. The debris field stretched at least a half-mile in every direction, according to officials.
A 19-year-old from Clinton Township was struck in the head by flying debris and died from his injuries.
Find full coverage of the Clinton Township explosion here.
While Clinton Township police and fire crews were investigating the cause of the fire, they learned that the owner and operator of the building, Noor Noel Kestou, had purchased a one-way plane ticket to Hong Kong. Kestou, 31, was set to depart from the JFK International Airport in New York.
An arrest warrant for Kestou was authorized. He was arrested at the airport. Clinton Township detectives flew to New York and took him into custody on April 24.
The business owner—believed to be the only owner of the Clinton Township business—was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, a 15-year felony.
Kestou initially appeared in front of Judge Sebastian Lucido for his preliminary examination on May 22. The hearing adjourned and was initially expected to continue on May 28.
On May 22, when the preliminary hearing began, prosecutors called four people to testify.
An employee testified about “weird incidents” leading up to the incident, including strange behavior of the building’s heating system that night. He said he was inside the building when it started.
Hearing on July 18
One of the witnesses who testified on July 18 was one of the fire inspectors from the Clinton Township Fire Department who conducted the initial inspection of the site before Kestou relocated to it.
Neil Waegenaere testified in the preliminary hearing that he was not aware that butane and nitrous were in the building before it caught fire and exploded in 2024.
Waegenaere stated that he inspected the building in Clinton Township in 2022, when Kestou was relocating his business. He said Kestou was with him on the day of the inspection.
The fire inspector said he was under the impression Kestou’s business was a retail store, not a manufacturing or distribution company. He said when he inspected the new building, he only saw some vapes, clothing, glass pieces and other items that were not out of the ordinary for a typical vape store.
Waegenaere said businesses that require yearly inspections include those with types of buildings that have people cooking inside, numerous workers in the building or hazardous materials. He said Kestou’s business did not appear to fall under the requirements for an annual inspection at the time.
Waegenaere was questioned whether it’s authorized for a business in general to have butane or nitrous. He said there is no violation for a business to have some butane or nitrous, but he stated that the quantity and storage of butane and nitrous would fall under a high-risk category for annual inspections.
The fire inspector reiterated he was not aware there was butane or nitrous in the building because it was not disclosed to him, and he did not see them himself during the 2022 inspection.
Waegenaere said it’s essential for businesses to disclose any hazardous materials stored in a building so that a fire inspector can determine if the quantity is safe for handling and if it’s located in an area where it could catch fire. He also said that having hazardous materials recorded in the inspection can help firefighters understand what they are facing if a fire were to occur.
He testified he was called to the scene of the fire on March 4, 2024. He recalled seeing multiple explosions in the building. He said he was not aware of what was exploding because it had never been disclosed during the inspection.
When he interviewed Kestou that night, he recalled Kestou explaining where certain things were in the building and creating a layout. The business owner then disclosed that there were butane and nitrous in the building. Waegenaere told Kestou that the layout looked different from what he remembered from the inspection, to which he replied, “Things have changed since you’ve been there.”
Waegenaere said he did not see any pallets or warehouse-like storage in the building, but Kestou’s layout during the interview reflected that.
He specifically remembered the business listed as a mercantile company, not a storage company.
A video was displayed in the hearing, showing various signs in the background and materials stored in the building. It appeared the video was taken by an employee looking through inventory. Waegenaere testified that the building did not have or look like anything related to what was shown in the video when he inspected it. He also said he was not familiar with any of the signage. He stated he would have looked up the sign meanings during the inspection to understand what was stored in the building.
He said he took part in the investigation the days following the explosion. He recalled seeing “thousands” of canisters spread throughout what was left of the building. He said he could see canisters ranging in various sizes mixed with the rubble.