A firefighter watches the blaze coming from the nursing home late Wednesday night

November 11, 1999
Web posted at: 1:13 p.m. EST (1813 GMT)

From Correspondent Ed Garsten

FLINT, Michigan (CNN) -- Rescue crews in Flint, Michigan, sifted through rubble Thursday after an explosion ripped apart a nursing home, killing five people and injuring 18 others.

Officials said they believed they had accounted for everyone inside the Clara Barton Convalescence Center at the time of the explosion.

Four people pulled from the building were dead on arrival at nearby Hurley Medical Center. A fifth died in the emergency room, said hospital spokeswoman Stephanie Motschenbacher.

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Nursing Home Explosion

The explosion in the boiler room rocked the facility shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday, crumpling its center section and sparking a fire that swept through the building.

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CNN's Jim Morelli visits the site of the fire. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

"We're looking at the furnace area. It could have been a boiler explosion," said Fire Chief Theron Wiggins. "With that magnitude it was definitely a great explosion."

Dozens of police, fire crews and paramedics rushed to the scene. Many victims were pulled from the twisted rubble and rushed to hospitals. Others were treated at makeshift medical facilities set up at nearby churches.

Neighbors helped rescue residents from the burning building

About 110 people, including employees and 93 residents, were inside the nursing home at the time of the explosion, Wiggins said.

The nursing home had a history of citations for violations involving patient care, The Flint Journal said.

The fire was brought under control late Wednesday. The building was 50 years old, Wiggins said, but had passed a state safety inspection about a month ago.