Fire Forces Partial Evacuation at Ford Flat Rock Assembly
Joe Hinrichs at Flat Rock Assembly for the kick-off of production for the Ford Mustang
A fire was reported at the Ford Flat Rock Assembly plant at 7 pm on Tuesday night, resulting in a partial evacuation of the building while crews battled and ultimately extinguished the flames. According to The Detroit News, the fire was caused by racks outside of the plant near the body shop on the north-facing side.
Per officials, there were no injuries reported.
“A corner of the building caught fire and employees in that area were quickly evacuated,” Kelli Felker, Ford Motor Company spokeswoman, told The Detroit News. “The cause of the fire is under investigation.”
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The fire took only about 40 minutes to extinguish, per the UAW Ford Department Facebook page. Fire departments from Flat Rock, Woodhaven, and Rockwood were said to have responded to the call, teaming to put out the fire by just after 8 pm.
According to Freep, production remained in motion in areas of the building not affected by the fire. Ford’s corporate website lists total employment at the plant at 3,251 people.
The 400-acre plant originally opened in 1972 as Ford’s Michigan Casting Center, and in the years since, it has been a manufacturing hub for Ford, Mazda1, and Ford and Mazda’s AutoAlliance International joint venture. Ford regained total control of the plant and rechristened it Flat Rock Assembly Plant in 2012, using the facility to manufacture the Ford Fusion through February of this year.
Ford currently builds the sixth-gen Ford Mustang at Flat Rock, and production of the 2017 Lincoln Continental is scheduled to get underway there this year.
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News Sources: The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press
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