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Muskegon Heights Fire Chief: Century Foundry plant considered a 'total loss'

No one was injured in the fire, but a firefighter sustained a minor shoulder injury. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — An aluminum casting plant in Muskegon Heights is a total loss after a fire broke out early Tuesday morning.

Century Foundry, which is on West Hovey Avenue near Hume Avenue and Park Street, caught fire around 6 a.m. Tuesday. Responding crews found heavy smoke coming from the building. All employees had evacuated by the time crews arrived at the scene.

Fire crews initially fought the fire from inside the building, but had to retreat due to the fire intensifying. Multiple agencies responded to help.

Muskegon Heights Fire Chief Christopher Dean said the fire presented more challenges than an average housefire.

"The facility itself, a larger facility requires more firefighters. In addition to require more firefighters, the complexity of it and the hazards, there's a lot more voltage and power that comes in (the plant) than a regular home," Dean said. "So when something goes wrong, that the potential for the problem to be great is even greater. There's more hazards, there's more more things that could get firefighters in trouble and danger and harm, as well as to the public."

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Dean said one firefighter sustained a minor shoulder injury while battling the fire.

Century Foundry has three plants in the Muskegon Heights area. The one impacted by the fire is considered a total loss, according to Dean, and normal operations are expected to resume at the undamaged plants.

The employees who evacuated the building and called for help made the firefighting effort easier, Dean said.

"The employees did the appropriate thing. Instead of fighting a fire that was too big for them, they evacuated the building, which allowed us to be able to go in and directly go after the fire and not have to search for people," Dean said.

Dean said a private crew will be working on cleanup after the remaining hotspots are extinguished. The investigation into what caused the fire is now underway.

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