The 19-year-old Michigan teen who died after being struck by a flying cannister from a huge industrial fire in a vape distribution factory has been identified.
Turner Lee Salter of Clinton Township, died in an area hospital from injuries after being fatally struck from flying debris from an explosion over 1,000ft away.
The explosion was initially caused by a truckload of butane that caught fire, sparking hundreds of smaller explosions as cannisters inside the factory burst into flames – leading officials to warn the surrounding area could be filled with toxic smoke.
According to officials, Salter was standing at a car wash on 15 Mile Road when he was he was hit by airborne shrapnel from one of the cannisters on Monday.
Turner Lee Salter of Clinton Township, died in an area hospital from injuries sustained when he was struck with flying debris from an explosion over 1,000ft away
Shocking images captured the aftermath of the inferno as plumes of smoke filled the area in Clinton Township, Michigan
Stunning before and after images show the factory flattened by the explosion
He had spent his life as an active member at Faith Baptist Church and was described as an ‘incredibly dependable and responsible young man’ by Pastor Tim Berlin.
‘Turner was just a joy to be around. He was so kind, always happy, someone who embraced life. He was on our church bowling league and everyone wanted to be on his team because they knew they’d have fun. This is a real loss for our community,’ the pastor said.
Macomb County Medical Examiner Dr. Mary E. Pietrangelo determined Salter’s cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head, according to Macomb Daily.
Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon said he could not fathom what Salter’s family was going through and said: ‘We feel horrible about it. The entire community is praying for him and his family.’
He is survived by his parents, Keith and Laura Salter, as well as three siblings.
A funeral service will be held on Friday at 9am, both at the church and 15 Mile Road.
The explosion was caused by a truckload of butane that caught fire, which then sparked hundreds of small fires as cannisters detonated, and officials warned residents to stay away from the region
By Tuesday morning, the factory was almost entirely levelled by the explosions and all that was left was scattered debris and building foundations
Hundreds of small explosions prevented fire crews from initially reaching the flames, and ladder trucks were deployed to pour water on the inferno from above
Emergency responders raced to the scene shortly before 9pm Monday at the vaping distribution company, which was around 25 miles outside Detroit.
According to WXYZ, vape distributor Goo was the source of the fire, and the numerous butane and propane components in their factory sparked hundreds of smaller explosions as they were caught by the flames.
As cannisters detonated in the factory, firefighters were initially prevented from reaching the fire, leading the Clinton Fire Department to deploy ladder trucks to pour water on the inferno from above.
Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said the inferno was one of the most challenging of his career, as there was a ‘tremendous amount of fire.’
‘In my 25 years, this, by far, was the biggest one that I’ve ever seen,’ he said.
Firefighters at the scene arrived to ‘materials flying in all directions from the building’, and officials warned locals not to touch a cannister if they find one on the ground.
A firefighter also suffered a minor injury resulting from the blast, after one of the cannisters flew through the windshield of a fire truck and hit them.
By Tuesday morning, the factory was almost entirely levelled by the explosions and all that was left was scattered debris and building foundations.
Police said debris was flung over a mile away from the explosion, with the killed teenager reportedly struck from over 1,000ft away
Inspectors look over debris left from the terrifying inferno on Tuesday morning
Debris was left scattered up to a mile away from the scene in Clinton Township, Michigan
Officials warned locals not to touch the cannisters if they find them on the ground following the deadly explosions
On Monday night, the Clinton Township Police Department issued an urgent warning for residents to stay away, because they did not ‘know what was burning’ at the time and didn’t ‘know the effects of the smoke.’
‘We can not stress enough the danger that is happening right now. Please, please, please stay inside and out of the vicinity,’ police said in a statement.
‘Debris is being projected into the air and coming down as far as a mile away from the explosion.’
Four people were reportedly inside the factory when the fire began, but made it out safely after evacuating as soon as they heard the canisters popping and cracking.
Fire Chief Duncan confirmed several firetrucks and police vehicles were damaged by the flying debris.
Duncan added that there were also some smaller fuel fires on nearby railway tracks that were quickly extinguished.
Four people were reportedly inside the factory when the fire began, but made it out safely after evacuating as soon as they heard the canisters popping and cracking
Plumes of red smoke filled the area, leading officials to warn the surrounding area could be filled with toxic smoke
One witness said they were initially confused by the commotion, and ‘thought it was the next-door neighbor doing something… crazy outside.’
‘And the wife is like ‘no, I just checked Facebook, there’s explosions going on,’ he continued to WXYZ, while the fire raged on behind him.
‘And I followed the plume of smoke and the shaking car, and here I am. And these are the baby explosions going off. There was much bigger ones going off earlier.
‘You could feel the concussions from the explosions in the car.’
Another witness described hearing the explosion, before checking outside to find the night sky filled with bright orange smoke.
‘At the time when it first started off, I was actually inside the house… when I had a chance to get to the front, we all ran outside. We saw the sky was really orange,’ they said.
‘So at that point, we kept hearing consistent booming, booming noises.
‘There was fire everywhere, fire in the street, fire behind the building… it was really, really crazy. I’ve never seen anything like that before.’