BLISSFIELD — Firefighters from five departments battled a “unique” structure fire in Blissfield for more than four hours early Wednesday morning.

Blissfield Township Fire Chief Dale Fruchey said the department was dispatched at 12:01 a.m. to the former Norton Equipment Corp. machine shop and factory at 203 E. Adrian St. near Giles Avenue for a structure fire. Upon arrival, Fruchey said, crews dealt with various levels of smoke which appeared to have been the result of burning magnesium and factory machinery that had been kept in storage at the facility.

Fruchey said the cause of the fire is not known at this time, but it will remain under investigation.

“We were able to save the building, and it’s still in good shape,” Fruchey said Wednesday. “It’s an older building, but it’s had some additions added on to it, so that ended up making it a struggle for us. Battling the magnesium was an issue, too. It was a struggle that’s for sure. It was a unique fire.”

Magnesium is one of a few metals that can catch on fire. It is a silver-looking metal that when it’s ablaze and reacts with water creates magnesium oxide and releases hydrogen gas. The more water that is applied to a magnesium fire can make the fire self-sustaining, Firefighter Insider said.

Magnesium is utilized throughout the manufacturing industry. It is the lightest structural metal used today, at least 30% lighter than aluminum, and is generally used in alloys. It is the third most used metal in construction after iron and aluminum, according to www.essentialchemicalindustry.org.

In order to contain the magnesium source of the fire, Fruchey said, crews used fire extinguishers specifically designed to extinguish flammable metal fires and controlled how much water got onto the blaze.

Firefighters left the area by about 4:45 a.m., Fruchey said.

There was smoke and water damage to some of the interior walls of the factory and to its roof as well, Fruchey said. But for the most part, the building is still operable.

The Palmyra and Riga Township fire departments provided assistance as did the Madison Township Fire Department, which brought its tower truck, and the Deerfield Fire Department, which provided an ambulance.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, Fruchey said.

Fruchey said the Blissfield facility still had quite a few items inside of it that were once used when Norton Equipment Corp. built plates for the automobile industry at that location. The building was recently sold, he said, and the new owners have been in the process of removing the equipment from the building.

Norton Equipment Corp. began in 1935 in Detroit and specializes in large and small surface plates and angle plates. It also manufactures magnesium and aluminum angles, risers, straight edges, parallels, cubes and mouse scribers for model and pattern shops. It has been at 355 Sherman St. in Blissfield’s industrial park since 1996.

The company moved from Detroit to Blissfield in 1956, citing increasing needs for its products and a larger facility.