Eight small children were evacuated safely Wednesday, June 29, after a van exploded in the driveway of Little Bloomers, an in-home daycare center in Saginaw Township.
Husband and wife owners Robert and Lisa Moore said the day was going as planned when both of them heard a loud bang just after 2 p.m.
Saginaw Township firefighters were dispatched to the day care at 4130 Alvin off Mackinaw between Shattuck and Weiss for a report of a house fire. Robert Moore said the van, which is used personally by the couple and not for the day care, had apparently randomly exploded. When the couple saw a fire had broken out, they began grabbing children and taking them out of the house.
"It exploded into the garage and God knows how far inside," Robert Moore said at the scene. "The air conditioning quit working today, but that was the only thing wrong with it."
Because they practice fire drills monthly, Robert Moore said, all the children were evacuated safely and calmly.