Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Flat Rock, MI – Storage fire at auto assembly plant controlled with help from single sprinkler July 21, 2016 viking210 A fire that started in storage racks damaged the north side of the Flat Rock Auto Assembly Plant Tuesday night, causing hundreds of workers to be evacuated from the building. Firefighters from Flat Rock, Rockwood and Woodhaven responded to the plant at Gibraltar Rd. and I-75 about 7 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters could see smoke billowing from the plant at the Flat Rock station, Chief William Vack said. “When we arrived, it was going pretty good, and you could see smoke about 100 feet in the air,” Chief Vack said afterward. “Once we got our water supplies established, we had it knocked down in about a half hour.” Where the fire started was only about 100 feet from Vreeland Rd., he said. Heat from the fire penetrated an exterior wall on the north side of the plant, activating a single sprinkler in a newer section of the building, he said. The sprinkler helped quell any fire inside. “Most of the plant was unaffected,” Chief Vack said. “The fire was near the truck docks. … There was no smoke in the building.” He said it was standard procedure to evacuate the plant when a fire alarm is activated. The amount of damage was unknown but was not believed to be extensive. Firefighters were on the scene for about two hours.
