Four Detroit Firefighters Hurt in House Blast

Sept. 21--Four firefighters were injured Thursday night when a house exploded on the 17000 block of Lamont Street in Detroit.

The firefighters were taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital with minor burns and cuts and are expected to be OK, Executive Fire Commissioner Donald Austin said.

He said firefighters were extinguishing a fire at the house when the explosion occurred around 9 p.m. "(It) appears to be a natural gas leak," Austin said, stressing that the cause remains under investigation.

Austin said he believes the house was vacant.

Late Thursday, crews from DTE Energy were on the scene, near East McNichols and Mound Road. A heap of charred shingles and beams sat on the home's front yard. Bits of glass and other debris were strewn across the street.

Carmenique Staples, who lives across from the house, said the force of the explosion broke two of her windows. "It was a really big boom. It was really loud," she said.

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