More than 100 firefighters battle hazardous blaze at General Motors in Pasadena

[ad_1] Greater than 100 firefighters and a hazardous supplies staff had been working Wednesday evening to fight a hearth involving lithium ion batteries and prototype vehicles at Normal Motors’ design studio in Pasadena, authorities stated.

At one level, a firefighter was trapped within the construction amid the ferocious blaze and despatched out a mayday name.

The Pasadena Fireplace Division responded to the hearth within the 600 block of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue at 5:50 p.m., in response to division spokesperson Lisa Derderian. The incident was declared a four-alarm hearth — signifying a catastrophic blaze that requires the mobilization of great hearth division sources — as a result of scale of the construction and the hazardous supplies concerned.

<img class="image" alt="A firefighter works at the General Motors design studio after a fire on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Pasadena" srcset="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d9e00de/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5635x3757+0+0/resize/320x213!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F49%2Fa2%2Fc33ce054427587fc0f734fad63f2%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc009.JPG 320w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e5b8c18/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5635x3757+0+0/resize/568x379!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F49%2Fa2%2Fc33ce054427587fc0f734fad63f2%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc009.JPG 568w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bf74367/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5635x3757+0+0/resize/768x512!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F49%2Fa2%2Fc33ce054427587fc0f734fad63f2%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc009.JPG 768w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a1ba56f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5635x3757+0+0/resize/1024x683!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F49%2Fa2%2Fc33ce054427587fc0f734fad63f2%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc009.JPG 1024w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f5b473b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5635x3757+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F49%2Fa2%2Fc33ce054427587fc0f734fad63f2%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc009.JPG 1200w" sizes="100vw" width="1200" height="800" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f5b473b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5635x3757+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F49%2Fa2%2Fc33ce054427587fc0f734fad63f2%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc009.JPG" decoding="async" loading="lazy"/> A firefighter is amongst dozens battling a hearth Wednesday on the Normal Motors design studio in Pasadena.

(Hon Wing Chiu / For The Instances)

“This is among the largest construction fires we’ve had in Pasadena in lots of, a few years,” Derderian stated.

Preliminary stories indicated that lithium ion batteries and idea vehicles burned contained in the constructing; nonetheless, the incident remained lively Wednesday night, and the reason for the hearth is underneath investigation, she stated. Among the burned vehicles seemed to be gasoline-powered automobiles.

It took firefighters greater than an hour to trace down the supply of the blaze as thick smoke engulfed the 149,000-square-foot campus. Normal Motors invested greater than $71 million in 2021 to construct the three-building facility as a brand new base for its Superior Design Middle.

The blaze is difficult to fight as crews can't use water to extinguish lithium ion battery fires. Doing so may cause a destabilizing chemical response, main extra batteries to catch hearth or explode.

“Firefighters on scene have skilled in situations like this, but it surely does put a unique twist on extinguishing fires,” Derderian stated.

Massive lithium ion battery fires can take a number of hours and even days to render protected.

<img class="image" alt="Firefighters are seen at the General Motors design studio after a fire on Wednesday" srcset="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8ab92c0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6097x4065+0+0/resize/320x213!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2F4f%2F4d0a5d9a4877a04390087990e253%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc003.JPG 320w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b73608a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6097x4065+0+0/resize/568x379!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2F4f%2F4d0a5d9a4877a04390087990e253%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc003.JPG 568w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2e4e73e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6097x4065+0+0/resize/768x512!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2F4f%2F4d0a5d9a4877a04390087990e253%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc003.JPG 768w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8b28e24/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6097x4065+0+0/resize/1024x683!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2F4f%2F4d0a5d9a4877a04390087990e253%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc003.JPG 1024w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/048750e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6097x4065+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2F4f%2F4d0a5d9a4877a04390087990e253%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc003.JPG 1200w" sizes="100vw" width="1200" height="800" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/048750e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6097x4065+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6c%2F4f%2F4d0a5d9a4877a04390087990e253%2F1527269-me-fire-general-motors-pasadena-hwc003.JPG" decoding="async" loading="lazy"/> The fireplace burned lithium ion batteries and idea vehicles on the Normal Motors facility, officers stated.

(Hon Wing Chiu / For The Instances)

When one battery cell overheats, it may possibly set off a series response the place close by cells additionally overheat. This response releases warmth and poisonous gases and might proceed deep contained in the battery pack lengthy after seen flames are put out.

There was a mayday name when a firefighter turned trapped contained in the fire-engulfed constructing Wednesday night. However hearth crews had been capable of find him and pull him out of the construction with out accidents.

“He didn't want to be transported [to a hospital], but it surely was a really scary jiffy there till they decided that he was OK,” Derderian stated.

Fireplace crews are looking the complete campus to make sure there isn't any one else trapped inside, she stated. Crews will stay on scene in a single day as they proceed to cope with the hazardous supplies concerned within the blaze.