Gas Leak Causes Explosion At Park Restroom In Ecorse; Residents Allowed To Return Home
ECORSE (WWJ) - Hundreds of Ecorse residents have been allowed to return to their homes after an explosion inside a public park restroom Thursday morning.
The incident happened around 7 a.m. at Dingell Park on West Jefferson Avenue, along the Detroit River near Southfield Road. Officials say an apparent gas leak inside the park's public restrooms, which were locked and closed for the winter season, resulted in an explosion.
Gas leak, explosion reported in public bathroom, Dingell Park in Ecorse. No injuries but roads are closed. @WWJ950 pic.twitter.com/Dczypp1Ngi
— Mike Campbell (@reportermikec) January 14, 2016
Director of Public Safety Michael Moore said police initially received a call about a "gas smell" in the area hours before the explosion.
"There was a response around 3 o'clock this morning and we notified DTE at that time, and then there was an explosion at 7 o'clock," Moore told WWJ's Mike Campbell.
"The leak where the school was got into the sewers and we're trying to figure out how that happened and ... the bathroom down on Jefferson was at the end of the line. And it could have gotten down there and traveled that far and had no where to go," Moore said in an update after residents were able to return to their homes.
Two businesses and approximately 200 residents in nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution, Moore said.
DTE Energy crews capped the leak in the park but officials were very concerned because gas appears to be seeping into the sewer system.
"They are still trying to locate this leak, because they're having gas coming up through the manholes," he said. "And because it's coming up through the manholes, that's how the gas is getting into the sewers."
Moore said if homeowners smell gas, they should pour water down the drain.
"Just in case you have an odor of gas in your home, you should pour that bucket of water in your floor drain -- that means your trap dried out -- and we want you to open up some windows," he said.
The restroom facility is still standing after the explosion, with its walls intact. Smoke could be seen rising from the building.
No injuries have been reported.
Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 and CBSDetroit.com for the latest.