年代oon after one of the busiest Fourth of Julys in Detroit (MI) Fire Department (DFD) history, the department responded to a commercial box alarm of fire in the city’s wholesale food distribution area, the Eastern Market. At 0928 hours on July 8, 2017, the DFD dispatched four engines, a ladder/platform, a ladder, two squads, two battalion chiefs, and emergency medical services (EMS) to 1555 Division, between Riopelle and Orleans. Since 1891, the Eastern Market, just east of downtown Detroit, has been the main wholesale distribution center for produce and meats for restaurants and other customers in southeastern Michigan.
Battalion Chief 1 reported smoke showing just as Squad 3 arrived and described the structure as an occupied 75- × 75-foot, two-story commercial building with fire in the rear. As with most warehouses in the area, the building involved was connected to other commercial structures, making this fire much more challenging to combat and larger than the initially reported 75- × 75-foot area.
As Engine 1 and Engine 9 members stretched lines through the front of the structure, Squad 3 reported heavy fire in the rear; but with the amount of fire and smoke, sizing up the building was difficult. Firefighters encountered a second floor with modifications that was filled with heavy smoke and had zero visibility. Interior firefighters were not sure whether a stairway they encountered led to a third floor or to the roof. The stairway led to the roof, which had been permanently secured; there was no third floor/storage area.
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