Big tank explosion at GM Proving Ground in Milford damages nearby homes

A large explosion of a tank that stored an oil and brine solution at General Motors' Milford Proving Ground has left two homes damaged, but no injuries.

Firefighters said they had the fire under control in about an hour and would start investigating the cause.

At 6:49 a.m. Tuesday, Brighton Fire Authority crews were dispatched to GM's Proving Ground with the report of an explosion, Brighton Fire Authority Chief Michael O’Brian told the Free Press.

"The crews saw a large amount of fire in what we would call a leased area of the proving ground," O'Brian said. "Along the proving ground, there are various wells of natural gas and oil that are leased to a third party. One of the tanks had a catastrophic failure and exploded."

The oil wells and tanks are not owned or operated by GM. O'Brian said about two dozen fire trucks from surrounding departments including Milford, Highland Township, Lyon Township and Howell also responded. O'Brian said there are no hydrants in the area, so tanker trucks were needed to bring the water.

Two homes located about 200 feet away from the explosion, along with the tank itself, were damaged from the blast, O'Brian said. But the occupants inside the houses were not injured.

"There is decent damage to one of the adjacent homes," O'Brian said. "Anytime a tank blows up like that ... well, people are saying they felt it 5 or 6 miles away.”

In a statement emailed to the Free Press at around 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, GM spokesman Kevin Kelly said the automaker was aware of an incident.

"Thankfully, no one was injured, and no facilities were damaged," Kelly said. "We will continue to monitor the situation.”

It took crews about 50 minutes to get the fire under control, O'Brian said.

"Anytime we’re working with a combustible, flammable gas or liquid we use a lot of foam," O'Brian said. "We have the fire out at this time, but there are some small fires we’re dealing with due to the natural gas, but we have it all mostly wrapped up."

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Brighton Fire Authority posted on its Facebook page around 8 a.m. a photo of the blaze with a note: "We are currently at Pleasant Valley north of Hyne in Brighton Township for a tank fire. Pleasant Valley road is closed north of Hyne."

As of 8:50 a.m., O'Brian said Pleasant Valley road remained closed. O'Brian said fire officials did not know the cause yet, but the fire marshall will work with the well owner to investigate.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This is a developing story and will be updated as new information is available.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Big tank explosion at GM Proving Ground in Milford damages homes