Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Greenville, SC – Sprinkler system activates to help control fire at bus manufacturer July 31, 2015 viking210 Firefighters responded Wednesday morning to a report of an explosion at a Greenville business. The incident happened at Proterra, a electric bus manufacturer, at Whitlee Court. Greenville City Fire Prevention Office responded to the scene and noticed black smoke pouring out of the building. There were employees inside of the building at the time of the fire, but everyone was evacuated safely. Some employees reported that there were two explosions that went off inside the business. The sprinkler systems are working to knock down the flames, but firefighters say there is still an active fire inside. Once the sprinkler system stops, the fire department will go inside the business to investigate.