Studebaker / Piquette Plant Fire

[Sue #5125]

Firefighters Douse Remains Of Studebaker Plant Fire
Businesses In East Side Of Structure Destroyed

POSTED: 1:30 pm EDT June 21, 2005

A nearly 100-year-old piece of Detroits automotive history was destroyed in a five-alarm fire that started on Monday night and continues to burn in spots.

The first alarm rang at 10:12 p.m. for a fire at the former EMF Studebaker plant at Piquette and John R, near Endicott in the New Center area.

By 11 p.m., the fire was a three-alarm blaze, but it quickly developed into five alarms.  
----------------------------------------------------------------
IMAGE GALLERY: See Aftermath Of Studebaker Plant Fire

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/4634645/detail.html TARGET=_blank>http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/4634645/detail.html
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/webfire21e_20050621.htm TARGET=_blank>http://www.freep.com/news/locway/webfire21e_20050621.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------

Most of the building had been vacant for years, but the east part of the structure housed several businesses, including the Piquette Market, a wholesaler of meat and produce.

The blaze drew 150 firefighters to the scene, three of which sustained minor injuries while battling the flames, Local 4 reported.

Mark Pischea, executive director of MotorCities National Heritage Area described the loss of the Studebaker plant as "huge," but added, "The Detroit Fire Department did a fabulous job in protecting other sites in the area."

Fire crews were able to keep the fire contained and away from the historical Ford Piquette plant, where Henry Ford conceptualized and built the first Model Ts. The structure also contains millions of medical records that are stored in the building for Henry Ford Health Systems, none of which suffered damage in the fire, the station reported.

"The Ford Piquette plant is an automotive icon thats been undergoing extensive renovation for what we hope will make it the centerpiece of the historical Milwaukee Junction area in the future," Pischea said. "The EMF Studebaker plant would have played a big role in the redevelopment of the area and will leave a big gap in that piece of Detroits storied automotive history."

Walter Bailey, who owns an art studio in a neighboring building, said he lost nearly everything when the flames burst through a window.

"Last night I kind of snuck in and this whole room was going orange and when the glass popped, a back draft occurred," Bailey said.

Some business owners in the area believe that squatters inside the abandoned Studebaker structure may be responsible for the fire. They said theyve wanted the building torn down, but a demolition scheduled five years ago never happened, the station reported.

"The building was quite deteriorated," said Leon LeBeau, an area business owner. "Weve had a lot of vagrants … and theyve set fires several times."

Fire officials did not yet know the cause of the fire.

Crews had the blaze under control on Tuesday morning, but continued to extinguish hot spots and areas where gas lines were burning. Firefighters said it could be two to three days before they complete work at the scene.

The Studebaker plant was built in 1906 and was used primarily to manufacture, store and ship service parts.