DETROIT (WXYZ) — Crews battled a fire overnight at the historic Detroit Salt Company in Southwest Detroit. It's home to the largest salt dry-mining operation in the entire state, spanning 1,500 acres underground.
We're told everyone inside the building was evacuated safely, with no injuries reported. The employees were all sent home as a precaution. We're told the fire was contained to the inside of the building.
Watch the video report from Brittany Toolis in the video player below
What was of particular concern here was the chemicals stored at this property. Chemicals aren't just on the property; they were inside the building where the fire originally happened, but Hazmat got held up getting to the scene. They were stopped in front of the Marathon refinery by a train stopped on the tracks.
The other crews first to this scene also had an obstacle of their own. A fire hydrant nearby broke; Detroit Public Works already blocked it off, but it's still bubbling. Then, about two hours after all that happened, fire crews got called back out there.
The crews responded to the first call just after 1 a.m., running into a stopped train and that broken hydrant.
Employees called 911 after finding that a storage area above an office was on fire. Fire crews arrived and needed more water. They tried turning on that nearby hydrant, but the water main broke, making the hydrant unstable.
A security guard escorted Hazmat to an alternate route. According to the chief on the scene, the train cost Hazmat several minutes in their response. He also said chemicals were not near the burning portion of the building during the first call. Then, about two hours later, the Hazmat crews were called back to the scene for a rekindling, which we're told is fairly normal with large fires.
We're still waiting on official confirmation on why they came back — but they focused on the top of the same building where the fire from the first call happened.
We have also reached out to Detroit Salt Company, but have not heard back. Detroit Fire says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
