Ford headquarters outside Detroit evacuated after fire

DEARBORN, Mich. – Ford Motor Co.’s world headquarters in Dearborn was evacuated Monday after a fire broke out in the building’s basement.

Dearborn Fire Chief Joseph Murray said no one was injured in the fire, which started in an electrical substation.

Ford spokesman Mike Moran said employees were instructed to leave the 12-story building when the smell of smoke was reported. The evacuation began at 9 a.m. and the fire was contained by 10:40 a.m., he said.

The blaze interrupted power to one of Ford’s data centres used by dealers to report sales. As a result, the company said it won’t report October sales with other automakers on Tuesday.

Battery backups saved the data, but the lack of power shut down the data centre for much of the day. October sales will be reported later in the week, Ford said.

The headquarters were built in the 1950s. The company announced earlier this year that it plans a decade-long renovation.