MELVINDALE (WWJ) -- Residents in Melvindale have been ordered to shelter-in-place as firefighters battle a massive warehouse fire that's being fueled by gusty winds.
Just after midnight on Thursday, Melvindale firefighters were called to the Flying Colors warehouse -- a printing factory -- on Allen Road, north of Outer Drive.
"We got here and the building was already fully involved, so we went to defensive attack immediately, and basically the roof went down and collapsed to the floor," said Dearborn Assistant Fire Chief Steve Desmore.
Since the printing warehouse contains a lot of different chemicals, Desmore said that's why residents were told to shelter-in-place. A HAZMAT team is there to monitor the air, in order to assure the residents that the air they're breathing is still good.
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WWJ's Charlie Langton, reporting on the scene, said it's taking several hours to fight this fire because of the 40-50 mph winds, which are making this much more difficult. Desmore said spraying water on the warehouse is effective, but the gusts keep blowing the flames the opposite way.
"It's [the wind's] hurting us," said Desmore. "I think we got our work cut out for us."
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Along with the wind, Langton said there is a smell of gas in the air, and that's because the gas meter couldn't be shut off -- since it's inside the warehouse.
"This is an older building and the meters are inside," said Desmore. "Obviously we couldn't go inside to shut them off, so we immediately called DTE for them to come out. They had to find it underground to shut it off for us."
No injuries have been reported. Allen Road in this area is currently closed off as firefighters continue to battle the blaze.
