Demolition crew causes second fire at clean-up site in Michigan

A demolition crew cleaning up after a major fire at a Muskegon, Michigan, automotive parts factory hit a natural gas line and caused a second fire at the site, a report by WZZM says. 

According to the report, crew members have moved away from the structure to allow firefighters and utility workers to turn off the gas before any further demolition work.

The fire started at Muskegon Castings Corporation at around 10:30 p.m. March 14, a separate WZZM report says. The flames lasted into the morning of March 15 and spread quickly, causing a number of hot spots and firefighters to attack the flames from the outside. They stayed on the scene for 12 hours.

Forty employees were in the building when the fire broke out, the report says, but all of them made it out safely. An equipment malfunction is the possible reason for the fire, although there are unconfirmed reports of an explosion.

The building was deemed a total loss and the company was told by the fire marshal that it may be able to salvage some equipment and tools. It held jobs for around 100 employees. According to the report, Muskegon Castings is part of the Port City Group, which runs other manufacturing companies in the city. Supervisors at the factory are working to place employees in the other facilities.