Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Milford, MI – Sprinkler system activated for vehicle fire at GM; No injuries reported

A fire occurred inside an engineering lab at the GM Milford Proving Grounds in Michigan over the weekend.

General Motors is now investigating the cause of the fire. According to a report from Detroit Free Press, which cites a statement by Brighton Area Fire Authority Chief Mike O’Brian, the fire started on Sunday around 6:30 a.m. local time.

GM’s fire brigade was the first to notice smoke coming from the building and called 911. Brighton and Milford firefighters responded and were able to quickly extinguish the blaze. According to O’Brian, the fire was largely extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system by the time firefighters arrived on the scene.

“It was a vehicle that started the fire,” O’Brian said. “How it started? We don’t know that. That’s under investigation. There were no injuries. There was smoke throughout the structure and we worked with GM to get the smoke evacuated.”

Employees are expected to return to work at the lab later this week.

According to GM spokeswoman Maria Raynal, the fire was related to the “12V system” on a “development vehicle.” However, although the automaker declined to specify whether the development vehicle in question was all-electric or an internal combustion engine, Fire Chief O’Brian did recently make a statement to WWJ Newsradio 950 outlining the hazards of EV development, saying “You’re gonna see a lot more events that when there’s a fire involving an electrified vehicle or an energy stored system. You’re going to see a lot more protection of the exposures in allowing the fire event to burn itself out or to consume itself.”

The GM Milford Proving Ground first opened in 1924 as the industry’s first dedicated automobile test facility, and now includes 4,800 staff and 142 buildings, as well as 132 miles of test roads.

Recently, General Motors was faced with a lawsuit levied against the automaker by Milford residents accusing GM of contaminating the local drinking water.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Normal, IL – Sprinkler system activated for vehicle fire; No injuries reported

A Rivian vehicle was on fire inside the building late Friday night.

The Normal Fire Department responded just after 9 p.m. while the building fire alarm was sounding and workers were being evacuated.

Firefighters found the vehicle on fire on a vehicle lift, while the sprinkler system was flowing water and suppressing the fire. The fire was contained in the single-vehicle and there was no smoke damage to the building.

“The sprinkler system did exactly what it was supposed to do – Put water on the fire quickly and prevent it from spreading until the fire department arrived to finish the job,” said Public Information Officer, Matt Swaney. “Most importantly, the damage was limited to just the one vehicle, and everyone was able to get out of the building safely.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No injuries were reported.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Chehalis, WA – Sprinkler system activated for fire in sawdust bin; No injuries reported

While there was a large volume of fire in a sawdust bin at Hardel Mutual Plywood on Thursday evening, no one was injured and the fire did not spread to the company’s main structure. 

The fire most likely started in a sawdust vacuum system on site, said Lewis County Fire District 6 Chief Ken Cardinale. 

“Sometimes they get a spark either from a rock or a nail or something that gets into that sawdust material and then causes the fire,” said Cardinale. “I wouldn’t say they’re common, but they do occur at these facilities. We probably have two or three of these that occur every year around the county.” 

The fire was inside the sawdust bins outside the building, which had sprinkler systems installed and “held it in check” until fire personnel were able to arrive. 

District 6 responded and called neighboring Lewis County Fire District 5 to assist, said Cardinale. 

Crews attacked the fire from above for about an hour and a half before it was extinguished, he said. 

“We put it out to keep it from spreading to the inside and cleaned up and went home,” he said. 

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Round Lake, IL – Sprinkler system activated for fire at industrial building; No injuries reported

A second-alarm fire early Tuesday morning at an industrial building in Round Lake took firefighters about two hours to extinguish and caused over $150,000 in damage.

The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District responded at 12:29 a.m. Tuesday to Northern Insulation, Inc., 702 Magna Drive in Round Lake, for an automatic fire alarm activation.

Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Anthony Carraro said that emergency crews arrived and found smoke coming from the building.

The automatic sprinkler system was also activated, indicating a working structure fire, Carraro said.

Northern Insulation, Inc. specializes in insulating various types of construction for residential and commercial buildings, according to their website.

The call was upgraded and firefighters from the Round Lake, Fox Lake, Grayslake and Wauconda fire departments responded.

The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was then activated to the second alarm level, bringing an additional 13 fire departments to the scene, Carraro said.

Firefighters deployed multiple hose lines to extinguish the fire. Seven sprinkler heads helped to keep the fire under control.

Carraro said the fire involved industrial chemicals stored inside a box truck in the building.

Firefighters also utilized a propeller-driven airboat to help ventilate the building of smoke.

The fire was declared under control around 2 a.m. and fire crews stayed on scene until 5:30 a.m.

The business was closed and unoccupied at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported, Carraro said.

Carraro credited the business’s sprinkler and fire alarm systems which kept the fire under control until firefighters could extinguish it.

Damage is estimated at over $150,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A total of eight fire engines, three ladder trucks, four ambulances, six command officers and four fire investigators responded to the scene, Carraro added.

The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District was assisted by the Fox Lake, Grayslake, Wauconda, Countryside, Gurnee, Spring Grove, Mundelein, Newport Township, Lake Villa, Salem, Libertyville, Richmond and Antioch fire departments.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Bowling Green, KY – Sprinkler system activated for fire at metal forming business

Around 8:30 this morning, fire crews were called to Magna Bowling Green Metalforming after a scrubber caught fire in the middle of the building. Employees were evacuated safely during the fire. The Bowling Green Fire Department says the plant’s sprinkler system helped to keep the fire under control until crews arrived and put it out completely. Fortunately there were no injuries.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Evansville, IN – Fire at industrial building extinguished with help from sprinkler system

Evansville fire crews were called to an industrial building Monday in Evansville.

A fire broke out shortly before noon in the 3000 block of Claremont Ave.

That’s on the west side between Tekoppel and Schrader.

Officials say they put out the fire with the help of the building’s sprinkler system, and everyone was back to work in about an hour.

They say this is the second time recently that a sprinkler system has helped stop a fire from spreading.

Just last week, there was a fire at the former Whirlpool plant. Fire officials used it as an opportunity to share the importance of a sprinkler system.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Dayton, OH – Sprinkler system holds fire in check until fire crews arrive; No injuries reported

An alert employee on Tuesday morning noticed a fire, shut down equipment involved and warned other workers before calling 911.

Crews responded around 7:45 a.m. to Polymershapes, 1680 Blauser Drive, for a report of a fire near a compressor.

The building, which houses three separate businesses, was evacuated before crews arrived and no injuries were reported, according to a release from Cameron Haller, chief of emergency services.

The sprinkler system held the fire in check, which was in a processing area on the southwest side of the building. Firefighters were able to quickly put it out.

The fire started near an industrial air compressor. The cause is undetermined but is unintentional. The total estimated loss to the structure is not yet determined, but the air compressor, which was destroyed in the fire, has an estimated value of $100,000, Haller said.

The two other businesses in the building were able to return to normal operations.

Polymershapes offers a variety of plastic fabrication.

In addition to Tipp City Fire/EMS, West Milton, Bethel Twp., Troy and Vandalia fire departments assisted at the scene.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Corpus Christi, TX – Sprinkler system activated for fire at paper company

Firefighters were called out to the Gulf Coast Paper Company Warehouse around 6:45 p.m. Sunday after several reports made to 911.

Fire crews saw smoke coming from the building when they arrived at the scene and quickly made their way inside.

“With this being a paper company with a fire of that magnitude certainly the lead time between fire and smoke it certainly could’ve gotten a whole lot worse there’s a lot of fire load inside and the sprinkler system certainly saved the day today,” said Battalion Chief David Saenz.  

The building has some water and fire damage, and officials say they will be investigating the actual cause of that blaze.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Lexington, KY – Fire extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Fire crews and an industry’s sprinkler system combined to quickly put out a fire today at the J.M. Smucker facility on Winchester Road.

According to Lexington Fire Battalion Chief Jordan Saas, firefighters responded to the report of a fire at about noon at the facility. Crews found smoke coming from the roof on the backside of the building and once on top, fire was discovered in one of the hoppers.

The fire was extinguished using a hose line and the building’s sprinkler system, Saas said.

No injuries were reported.

As of 1 p.m., crews remained on the scene checking for hotspots but the scene was turned back over the company at about 1:15 p.m.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Clearfield, UT – Sprinkler system activated for fire at wood molding company; No injuries reported

Fire crews from multiple agencies responded to a commercial fire Thursday afternoon in Clearfield.

North Davis Fire District Chief Mark Becraft said the single-alarm fire, at 560 S. Main St., was inside the large structure owned by Interior Works, a company that produces wood molding.

“When crews arrived, there was smoke showing, and the building was evacuated,” Becraft told Gephardt Daily. “A sprinkler head popped and kept the fire in check.”

He said the fire was caused by a planer that malfunctioned, and it was a good thing “the sprinkling system did its job,” because firefighters’ visibility was hampered by all the smoke and sawdust.

“It wasn’t really a big fire, but it was a little bit of a task getting the building ventilated afterward because of (the building’s) size,” Becraft said, adding that crews were on scene for about an hour and 15 minutes.

He estimated damages at $100,000, with roughly $80,000 of that being the cost of the large commercial planer that caused the fire.

There were no injuries, Becraft said.

All North Davis Fire District crews responded, as well as firefighters from Syracuse, Hill Air Force Base, and Layton. The Davis County Sheriff’s Office also was on scene.