Milan plant suffers $1.5M fire

MILAN — A Milan village manufacturing plant suffered a serious fire on Friday. At 10 a.m., Milan Township Fire Department received a call for a fire at Johns Manville in the fifth block of Lockwood Road. Firefighters arrived to find a fire affecting the plant's entire shipping department, according to Milan Township fire Chief Brian Rospert. Due to the potential of the fire to spread through the more than 150,000 square foot facility, additional fire departments responded. Crews from Huron, Norwalk and Berlin Township fire departments provided mutual aid, Rospert said. The fire was under control at approximately 11 a.m., according to Rospert. "My guys did a great job getting the fire knocked down," he said. "We really appreciate the help from Huron, Norwalk and Berlin Township. It was a great team effort by all involved to get it stopped so quickly." Rospert said no one was injured and all plant employees were able to evacuate the plant unharmed. "We are thankful that all our employees were safely evacuated this morning," said Eric Brown, corporate communications director for Johns Manville. "We are very appreciative of the speedy response by fire departments from Milan and surrounding areas." The cause of the fire is undetermined, but investigators are focusing on a possible electrical cause, according to Rospert. The chief said the estimated total loss, including contents and structure, is approximately $1.5 million. The plant manufactures synthetic rubber roofing products, according to a company press release.