A gas leak may have caused a fire at the Composite Forgings facility in southwest Detroit July 18. The steel-cutting business is located on West Jefferson and 15th Street along the Detroit River and the building reportedly caught fire just after midnight, Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ reported.
No employees were in the building at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
"There's property damage, no life or limb, nobody's hurt, nothing of that nature, just a lot of property damage," Fire Chief Tracy Thomas told Detroit CBS affiliate WWJ. "All firefighters are OK, we took a precautionary measure to the situation right away."
As of about 9:30 a.m. July 18, firefighters had contained the flames but were continuing to put them completely out. Thomas said the high heat and humidity Detroit is experiencing affected firefighters at the scene. However, the nearby river did provide some relief.
"Earlier it was hot because it was a pretty intense fire, but at the same time, right now there's a nice breeze going and everybody is doing fine now," he said.
The cause of the fire has not been confirmed, but authorities suspect a gas leak is to blame. A toxic gas detector can warn employees at industrial locations of potential dangers and give them ample time to evacuate a building.
