Update: Fire crews continue to battle 'very, very stubborn' Port Huron industrial park fire

Firefighters were expected to work through the night and into the morning battling what Port Huron Fire Chief Corey Nicholson called a "very, very stubborn" fire inside a US Farathane warehouse at 22nd and Beard streets in the city's industrial park.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday, Nicholson said rescue crews were awaiting on an excavator and heavy equipment to help push into the building and begin breaking up the fire, which was still sending a tall column of black smoke up into the air as evening fell.

"We've been working throughout the day. Unfortunately, it's a metal-clad building, so it wants to shed water as we're putting water on it," the fire chief said. "We have five aerial (trucks) here, three engines, (and) 30 firefighters."

First responders were first called to an automatic fire alarm at the site at around 11 a.m. Sunday, and Nicholson said the initial crews arrived to find an active fire about 100 feet into the building before attempting to extinguish it.

They "got chased out fo the building as the fire progressed through a lot of heavy storage of automotive plastic parts, semi-finished parts," Nicholson said, "all in rack storage that goes all the way up to the ceiling."

By early Sunday evening, officials said authorities were beginning to rotate on-duty crews with help from the city of Sarnia backfilling the city's main fire station. In addition to the city of Port Huron's fire and police departments, on scene were crews from Port Huron Township, Kimball Township, Fort Gratiot, Marysville, the city of St. Clair, and Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

"Tri-Hospital's on scene. We rotate people into rehab. Their vitals are checked. If they can't pass protocol as far as being ready for fire service, they get rotated out," Nicholson said. "We've had two transportated to the hospital just for heat exhaustion and cardiac-related issues."

The firefighters affected, he said, were from Marysville and Port Huron Township.

Officials have said there were otherwise no major injuries.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was also on site for downwind air-monitoring out of caution. But earlier in the day, Port Huron City Manager James Freed said it was out of an abundance of caution, and no air quality issues were expected.

The area around the US Farathan facility continued to be blocked to traffic as of Sunday evening.

"We are asking everyone to avoid the area around US Farathane (22nd and Beard) due to the large, very much still active commercial structure fire. We are seeing individuals walking dangerously close to the scene to take pictures and get a closer look. This is NOT safe and forces first responders to focus their attention on these Individuals instead of the incident itself," the Port Huron Police Department shared on social media.

"Your safety and the safety of our first responders is our top priority. Please stay away from the area and allow emergency personnel to do their jobs. Thank you for your cooperation."

Port Huron Assistant Police Chief Brian Kerrigan said 24th Street is closed between Bancroft and Dove, and Petit and Beard are closed between 20th and 24th streets.

Freed said the fire is in a 132,000-square-foot storage building and not an actual manufacturing plant.

Nicholson said the affected building was not staffed at the time the fire broke out.

Freed compared Sunday's fire to the blaze that destroyed the old Chicory building on 12th Avenue in 2018, citing the expectation fire crews would have to continue to check hot spots in the next couple days.

Earlier in the day, Freed said the immediate concern was containing the fire with a massive response from multiple jurisdictions and keeping rescue crews safe.

However, the city manager said they were concerned for the impact the fire would have on US Farathane and its facility.

“It has huge economic effects for our community,” he said, adding US Farathane employs about 610 people. "One of our top 10 employers in the city.”

Check back for updates.

Subscribe: Support local news.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Update: Fire crews continue to battle 'very, very stubborn' Port Huron industrial park fire