Two fires in two days hit Chrysler Canada

WINDSOR, Ontario, March 12 (UPI) -- Two fires that hit a Chrysler Canada assembly plant and head office building in Windsor, Ontario, were accidental, the Windsor Star said Wednesday.

Monday, combustibles overheated in a paint-drying oven, which prompted a full plant evacuation and three-hour shut-down of production, the report said.

"It was an accidental fire," said the plant's Chief Fire Prevention Officer Lee Tome.

There were no injuries, and company spokesman Ed Saenz said Tuesday there wasn't a damage estimate yet. However, one vehicle in the oven at the time was lost, as was the production time. The plant makes about 60 vehicles an hour, he said.

Then Tuesday, a main switch gear on a third-floor transformer overheated at the company's head offices and caught fire, the report said.

Saentz said there was smoke damage to the electrical room but otherwise the fire was contained.

Office workers were sent home from the blacked-out building but were back at work Wednesday, the Star said.