5 Killed, More Than 20 Hurt in Nursing Home Fire

Three backhoes dug through discarded wheelchairs, beds and mounds of twisted metal Thursday as rescuers sifted through the remains of a nursing home fire that killed five people and injured more than 20.

The boiler in the basement of the Clara Barton Convalescence Center exploded just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, blowing out windows and collapsing the ceiling.

Firefighters and neighbors scrambled to pull dazed survivors out of the flaming building. Many residents, clothed only in hospital gowns, were confused as they were taken into the rain and cold.

About 110 people, including 94 residents, were inside the home at the time of the explosion. Three residents, ages 77 to 88, and two employees were killed.

“It is almost miraculous that the fatality count is not higher,” Mayor Woodrow Stanley said.

Searchers used police dogs trained to look for victims trapped beneath rubble but found none. Later in the day, everyone was accounted for.

At least six residential units were above the explosion site. A laundry room, kitchen and office adjoined the boiler in the basement.

The explosion blew out one side of the one-story home, which was built in 1964. It shattered windows and left pieces of twisted roofing metal hanging in nearby trees.

Michael Townsend, 26, was at Divine Grace Ministries church next to the home when the explosion nearly knocked him out of his chair. He looked outside and saw flames towering above the building.

“We just started getting people out of there,” Townsend said. “We went through the wing pulling out wheelchairs or just pulling out beds.”

The nursing home has a history of citations for safety violations related to patient care, but the boilers passed their last inspection in December, said Kathy Wilbur, the director of the Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services.