By Alex Hassel, Storage.com
A self storage facility in Hamilton, Mich. exploded the morning of Thursday, December 3 at Storage Unlimited. Investigators aren’t sure what happened, but they believe the blast was caused by a propane tank heating a storage unit, which housed a medical marijuana growing operation that was in compliance with the state’s Medical Marihuana Act.
The explosion rocked the entire community, literally. Owner of Storage Unlimited John Kouw told WWMT-TV that he’d even heard it from his home 13 miles away. “There was just an instant explosion sound, and the whole house shook, and it got my attention enough to see if it was one of my neighbor’s houses because it sounded really close,” he said.
A press release from the Michigan State Police said the explosion leveled the storage building and severely damaged other buildings in the surrounding area. The force blasted a large amount of debris hundreds of feet around the property.
Several law enforcement agencies and area fire departments responded to the incident. “We’re getting reports from six to eight miles away, as far as people calling in the explosion. The subdivision behind us here, Preservation Estates, has several houses that were damaged,” Trooper Andrew Jamrog told WWMT-TV News Channel 3 in Michigan.
The tenant had been renting the self storage unit for a medical marijuana growth operation. MSP said the operation seemed to be legal and is not believed to be related to the cause of the explosion. Investigators say a propane tank inside, which was used to heat the unit, somehow ignited the blast.
A local man was in his storage unit with his dog when the explosion happened. He was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. However, his dog did not survive.
When Kouw later learned that the explosion had happened at his facility, he joined the scene. “Now I know why I could hear and feel it where I was. This is just total devastation of a storage unit,” he told WWMT.
The Michigan State Police Fire Marshall Division continues to investigate the cause of the incident.
Sources: WWMT-TV and Michigan State Police.
Photo provided by WWMT-TV.
