Building explodes in Michigan; three said trapped

wfgodot

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WAYNE, Mich. -- At least three people are believed to be trapped inside the wreckage of a burning furniture store that exploded in southeast Michigan.

Wayne City Manager John Zech tells WWJ radio that fire crews are attempting to extricate them from the William C. Franks home furniture store in the city of Wayne, some 15 miles west-southwest of Detroit.
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Zech says the building's roof has "caved in completely onto the store."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/29/believed-trapped-exploded-furniture-store-369650893/

Building explosion in Wayne
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Witnesses say the explosion happened at the William C. Franks Furniture company around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday. Crews from multiple jurisdictions are being called to the scene.
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Action News has crews on the way to the scene. Calls into our newsroom indicate that the explosion was felt as far as Garden City and Romulus miles away, where it shook the windows and caused a brief power outage
 
Due the time the explosion occurred and the fact the store opens at about the same time, the explosion could have been caused by an employee turning on the lights when they came to work while the store was filled with natural gas from a leak. Or an employee going to investigate the smell of natural gas in say the utility room and turning on a light there. Hopefully there were not many employees in the store at the time of the explosion.

JMO
 
how horrible

hope they make it out ok ...
 
I watched live coverage of the developing story when it first broke this morning, and there was a brief press conference at noon. Rescuers are still searching through the rubble for two employees who are believed to be trapped in the building. The owner of the furniture company was transported to the University of Michigan Burn Unit in critical condition.

My favorite local news channel is www.clickondetroit.com There has been live-stream from the site of the explosion throughout the day.

Owner in hospital after blast at Wayne furniture store
Santiago Esparza and Steve Pardo / The Detroit News
Wayne — One person has been pulled from the rubble and two others are believed trapped inside a furniture store that exploded this morning, shaking area homes and frightening residents, officials said.

The man rescued is Paul Franks, owner of the William C. Franks Furniture store. He is listed in critical condition at the University of Michigan Trauma Burn Center in Ann Arbor, officials said. Officials believe two other store employees are still missing — a secretary and salesman.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101229...-blast-at-Wayne-furniture-store#ixzz19Wv6VLjj

From my Comcast homepage: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20101229/US.Furniture.Store.Explosion/
 
Latest news is that they've pulled one body out.

God rest their souls.

Best-
Herding Cats
 
I am so sorry to hear this.HLN said the explosion shook the ground 5 miles away.So sad.
 
Rest in Peace poor soul. Thoughts and prayers for the family.
 
Two found dead in Wayne store debris

Late Wednesday night, officials said rescuers had recovered both bodies from the rubble. The first one found was James Edward Zell, 64, of Westland, a salesman at the Wm. C. Franks Furniture store. A second body was believed to be that of a female employee. Officials have not released her name.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101230...ound-dead-in-Wayne-store-debris#ixzz19bZQkhEm
 
Medical examiner: 2 Wayne store employees died from multiple injuries

he two victims recovered from the site of a furniture store explosion died of multiple injuries and their deaths were accidental, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office in Detroit.

Autopsies completed on James Zell, 64, of Westland and Leslie Machniak, 54, indicate the two employees pulled from the wreckage of the Wm. C. Franks Furniture store in Wayne on Wednesday night died from the building's collapse, and not from the resulting fire, said Albert Samuels, the medical examiner's chief investigator.


"Basically … the force of the building collapsing, and the fact that it fell on top of them, this caused them to have multiple injuries," Samuels said. "There's nothing indicating they burned or anything like that."

(Snipped)


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101230...ees-died-from-multiple-injuries#ixzz19dPkI0aw
 

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