DETROIT -- About 50 firefighters responded to a fire early Friday morning at the Marquette Building in downtown Detroit, which is undergoing a $50 million renovation to become the new headquarters for Adient Ltd.
The blaze on the ninth floor of was believed to have started in a construction elevator at the 10-story 243 W. Congress St. building.
One firefighter was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital with a knee injury, Detroit Fire Department Deputy Commissioner Dave Fornell said.
Firefighters responded around 4 a.m. and extinguished the fire about an hour and a half later, Fornell said. Accessing the under-construction building proved difficult, and they attached a rope to the side of the building and used it to run a hose to the ninth floor, he said.
Firefighters were no longer on scene, Fornell said Friday morning. There were no other injuries reported and no one was believed to be in the building. Damage is still being assessed.
Adient spokeswoman Mary Kay Dodero said the fire will not impact the automotive seat supplier's plans for the 111-year-old structure.
Dodero said the company is more than a year from move-in, and the building's designation as historic is making for a longer rehab process. It originally pegged mid-2019 for opening.
Friday's fire is bad luck for a company dealing with other issues. A dismal earnings report earlier this month highlighted a second-quarter net loss of $168 million. A "deep setback" in its seat structure and interiors business will prevent it from achieving profit goals that had been set for 2020, it said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Fornell said given it was on the ninth floor, it "doesn't appear to be suspicious."
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