Firefighters expect to fight U.S. Farathane fire for another 24-36 hours

PORT HURON — Firefighters who have been fighting to extinguish the blaze at a U.S. Farathane warehouse on Beard Street expect it could continue to smolder for another day.

"We expect to be on scene for another 24 to 36 hours," Port Huron Fire Department Chief Corey Nicholson said.

Nicholson said the fire is under control and most of it has been extinguished. Firefighters are now excavating the building to extinguish pockets of fire.

Smoke could still be seen rising Monday morning from the warehouse located near the intersection of 24th and Beard streets, more than 20 hours after the fire began. Firefighters were first called on scene around 11 a.m. Sunday to find the warehouse, which stores automotive parts, on fire.

"Significant pockets of heavy fire exist due to burning plastic combustibles in depth, as well as collapsed portions of roof decking," Nicholson said in a news release sent out early Monday morning.

The Port Huron Fire Department is receiving assistance from neighboring city and township fire departments to ensure it can still respond to other calls in the city. Firefighters are rotating shifts. Nicholson said the fire was the worst he'd seen since the 2018 fire at the Chicory building on 12th Avenue.

The department is being assisted on scene by the Fort Gratiot Fire Department, Marysville Fire Department, Port Huron Township Fire Department, St. Clair Fire Department, Kimball Township Fire Department, Tri-Hospital EMS, Port Huron Police Department, Port Huron DPW, Utilities, and Wastewater, St. Clair County Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Environmental Protection Agency.

Three firefighters were hospitalized Sunday due to heat exhaustion and cardiac health concerns.

Several roads near the warehouse have been closed off while firefighting efforts are underway. The fire department and Port Huron Police Department have asked people to stay away from the area for their own safety and so firefighters can focus on the task at hand.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Firefighters expect to fight U.S. Farathane fire for another 24-36 hours