DETROIT – General Motors halted production Tuesday afternoon at an electric vehicle plant in Detroit after lithium-ion batteries caught fire, prompting an evacuation.
On Tuesday, Dec. 19, a fire broke out at GM’s Factory ZERO -- a 4.5 million square-foot plant devoted to EV production, located on the border of Detroit and Hamtramck. Officials said Tuesday that the cause of the fire was still being investigated, though the blaze was said to have stemmed from lithium-ion batteries.
The fire was declared a three-alarm fire, meaning authorities requested triple the usual number of firefighters and equipment to fight the flames. Heavy smoke had reportedly spread throughout the facility.
The plant was evacuated, and officials said all employees were accounted for and safe. No injuries were reported due to the fire.
The second shift at the plant was canceled Tuesday afternoon.
GM spokesperson Tara Kuhnen said Tuesday that the company is “investigating the situation and will share more details once available.”
The Detroit Fire Department said it had been to the plant eight times since August. In the following statement released Wednesday, GM said not all of those incidents were fires or battery related.
The safety of our employees is our overriding priority. The incidents referenced were not all battery related and were not all fires. Importantly, all employees were safely evacuated as part of our safety procedures. We call the local fire department to ensure we have immediate help with incidents regardless of severity. Some incidents were minor and quickly contained, while other incidents required assistance from the fire department. We take each occurrence seriously with full investigations and appropriate actions to avoid future incidents.
GM spokesperson Tara Kuhnen
Factory ZERO, GM’s “first fully dedicated EV assembly plant,” employs about 1,880 people and produces the GMC Hummer EV pickup truck and SUV, the Chevy Silverado EV pickup truck, and the Cruise Origin.
See footage from the scene in the video report below.