Flames Ruin Applied Dynamics Plant - Heavy Loss Still Being Calculated

Flames Ruin Applied Dynamics Plant

Heavy Loss Still Being Calculated

By William B. Treml

(News Police Reporter)

A computer assembly plant in Scio Township was virtually destroyed yesterday by a raging fire which raced through the building in less than an hour.

Robert Higdon, director of industrial relations for Applied Dynamics, said he could not confirm a reported building loss estimate of $100,000. Higdon said about another estimate that computer equipment inside the building was valued at $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 "are figures we can't comment on." He said until an inventory of the scene is taken there is no way of knowing what the actual loss will be.

Thirty-six volunteer firemen from Dexter and Chelsea manning six trucks poured 180,000 gallons of water on the Applied Dynamics Co. plant at 7300 Huron River r., but the major section of the one-story building was destroyed.

SHerriff's deputies say a passing motorist spotted flames shooting up from the center of the building at 2:30 a.m. yesterday and immediately called the Dexter Volunteer Fire Department. Firemen said when they arrived the entire center of the building was enveloped in flames and the fire was spreading rapidly in both directions. 

Firemen began hitting the flames with water from three diretions, while other volunteers laid ladders against the walls and began "venting" the fire by chopping holes in the roof.

At one point a mass of blue flame erupted from one section of the plant, apparently caused by acid used in soldering of printed circuits for the computers.

The towering flames from the burning plant reddened the sky and rolling clouds of smoke were blown eastward toward the Scio Plant of the Chrysler Corp.

Firemen said the fire may have started in a blower motor in a ventilating fan located in the center of the long, low building. They said their hoses were almost useless against the fast-spreading fire but that continual efforts saved the extreme east end of the structure where computers are stored.

Higdon emphasized that Applied Dynamics is continuing operations at the Ann Arbor facilities at 2275 Platt Rd. and plans are already under way to restore operations at the Scio Township plant.

"We are not out of business by a long shot," Higdon noted.

He said that about 150 persons are employed at the Huron River Dr. plant and that while most of that number will remain on a "standby" basis temporarily some are being reassigned to the Ann Arbor factory.

Sheriff's deputies said the fire was accidentally caused and they noted that their department is not conducting an arson investigation.

Applied Dynamics expanded their Ann Arbor operations to the Huron River Dr. plant in 1965.

Sheriff's men said a security guard assigned to give the plant periodic checks reported that all was secure in the building when he made an inspection at 10:15 p.m. Saturday. The security guard said he found a machine still on when he entered  but nothing else was amiss in the building.

In 1965 when Applied Dynamics took over the old Burroughs Co. building the firm had had an annual volume rate of about $3,000,000. Last spring the firm was awarded a contract to build a new computer system developed by the General Motors Corp.

Fire Rages In Building

The picture above shows how the south side of Applied Dynamics Co. plant on Huron River Dr. in Scio Township looked early yesterday morning as fire raced through the computer plant, destroying all but the east end of the 21,000-square-foot structure. Below, a Dexter volunteer fireman is silhouetted against a background of flame as he pulls a hose closer to the raging blaze.

Volunteer Firemen Fight Blaze

Volunteers from the Dexter and Chelsea fire departments shoot water from a hose into the burning Applied Dynamics Co. plants moments after a large section of the roof of the building collapsed in a fiery roar, Firemen used axes and pike poles to smash windows in the plant to reach the interior flame with water. Firemen remained on the scene of the fire until dawn yesterday.