Story updated at 3:30 p.m.
A firefighter was seriously injured after he jumped about 25 feet from the platform of a ladder truck Wednesday morning when a portion of the historic, abandoned Fisher Body Plant 21 collapsed.
It was the second fire at the city-owned plant early Wednesday.
A firefighter on the platform of Ladder 7 fell when the rear of the plant, which is open to trespass, collapsed at Piquette and Hastings, just north of Midtown. He suffered a broken rib and punctured lung.
“An external elevator shaft separated from the building and was falling,” said John Roach, spokesman for Mayor Duggan. “The injured firefighter reacted and jumped from the lift. His partner stayed in the bucket and was not injured because the falling section did not impact their equipment.”
The chief on the scene tried to warn the firefighters about the impending collapse but it was too late.
“Ladder 7 you are going to have to back up farther,” Chief 5 said. “Get out of there. Now, now, now!”
The firefighter was barely conscious and having trouble breathing as they waited about 12 minutes for an ambulance. Luckily, firefighters were able to stabilize him while waiting.
The fire comes a week after a famous German nightclub owner announced his hopes of buying the Fisher Body Plant and turning it into a techno club, restaurant, art festival and startup co-working space.
The 536,000-square-foot building is still contaminated despite environmental cleanup efforts.
According to Detroiturbex.com, a site that chronicles abandonment in the city, the building has been “in steady decline, slowly being broken down by natural elements. Several sections of the floor have caved in, the cement being eaten away by water and broken by ice. At least one fire heavily damaged the ground level of the first floor.”
The city has left the building open to trespass for years.
Roach said the city doesn’t have the funds to secure the more than 80,000 buildings in Detroit, but emphasized that Mayor Duggan has been demolishing abandoned houses and buildings at an unprecedented rate – more than 200 a week.
“The administration has considerably stepped up demolition, but addressing all of the vacant buildings in the city will take several years,” Roach said.
A firefighter was injured in February when another Fisher Body Plant in Detroit went up in flames.
Audio: Firefighter seriously injured when historic Fisher Body Plant collapses added by Steve Neavling on
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Steve Neavling
Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.
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